Butterfly's Touch
by ShyKneeStardust
Summary: Much before they were leaders, Roark and Gardenia were close. Closer than they imagined at least. With their gym leader coronation day arriving faster than ever, they'll have to find a good way to tell each other. Except there is a problem- Roark is already in love and Gardenia hates his 'girlfriend' Will things ever be the same again?
1. Just Talk

Disclaimer- Had I owned Pokémon, it'd be too cheesily romantic.

Just Talks

Moonlight spread all around that amazing little [patch of grassland which was rather inappropriately named. For it was covered with so many flowers that nobody understood what on earth was this thing? All the same, it meant heaven for two friends who were of course pretty much deeply lost in lovely conversation, even if it was getting dry.

A red head lad with glasses that actually made him look cute was slumping onto that soft, albeit itchy grass which made him cringe regularly and stained his olive clothes, something new from his usuals. Right next to him was a young brunette who was wearing a lemon green dress and lying near him. It was hard not to mistake them for lovers, but it wasn't the first time.

"I cannot believe it! We were picked for being the gym leaders of a whole city- like being the monarchs or something!" the brunette squealed. "Oh, Gardy- we'd be the duke or duchess and no, it will be a lot of hard work; ever occurred to you?" the red head interjected. "Roark, sometimes you can be soooo boring. Lighten up, will ya?" the girl cooed making him blush- he hated her flirty ways, heaven alone knew how they were friends.

"I still have no idea how you are so well, excited. We were told this months ago!" said Roark icily. "Please, Rocky; don't spoil the moments- tomorrow it is the day!" she spouted dreamily which made him cringe- what was going on with her? "Gardenia, it is special, but honestly... now?" he sighed. Roark was a bit more on the quiet side and really shy and particularly frightened of women, a weakness for most guys like him.

Suddenly his face turned pale. "It's TOMORROW?!" he yelled. Gardenia nodded casually which made him almost faint. "Why didn't anybody ever tell me?!" he yelled. "I had a million things to do that day!" Gardenia rolled her eyes. "Oh, like dating that new model who came over. I mean come on, Roark- she is so blooming plastic! Besides, I really don't remember models being turned on by you ever!"

This hurt Roark a lot. It was visible on his face.

"It was a different thing you were really turned on by that beautiful babe back in high school..." Roark blushed and turned crimson with embarrassment. He never forgot that day when Gardenia was nearly going to post his secret love letter to the girl everybody was in love with. At least who all the tall guys were in love with, for sure.

"Oh come on! What makes you think she'll like me anyway?" Roark spat coldly. Gardenia leaned in closer and spoke "Come on, Roarky; it was just a joke. Haven't you gotten over that yet?" Roark sighed- she was right. "Okay, fine. But stop calling me Roarky. It's annoying!" he said. Gardenia brightened immediately. "That's the spirit, Roark! I like it!" she beamed which made him smile- she was really warm a person and had an angelic beam.

The stars were bright and the moon was clearly reflecting onto the lake nearby. "Verity Lakefront really is beautiful, right?" Gardenia sighed as she slouched a bit more. "Yeah, it sure is." He said. After staring at the sky for a while, Gardenia piped up "Come on, it's late! Let's go home! Tomorrow is a big day, after all!" Roark agreed and left. It really was going to be a long day...


	2. Memories of Hell

Memories of Hell

While walking home, Roark was pleasantly smiling to himself. This was very unlike him and Gardenia snapped her fingers impatiently. "Yo Roarky, what's up?" Roark immediately snapped out of it. "Can't you let a man dream?" he complained. Gardenia pouted. "Aww, come on, Roarky! I know something's playing on your mind and I need to know what it was!" Roark fumed. "Stop calling me Roarky! It's plain annoying!"

Gardenia winced. "Oooh, I am sorry! I really shouldn't lose my temper; especially when we'll be battling tomorrow to check out which city we'll be assigned to!" Roark coughed hearing this. "We what-?!

"My my, Roark! Aren't you the most oblivious man in the world! We are supposed to battle tomorrow to check who is worth going to each new city for our 'ruling province'!" said Gardenia wiggling her fingers. He stared at her deathly pale. Gardenia clicked her tongue. "Geez, Roark; you have to stop spending too much time in that mine!" she scolded. Roark said nothing. Right now he just wanted to scream. Why did nobody ever tell him anything?!

"Just WHY does nobody EVER tell me ANYTHING?!" he wailed. Gardenia felt a pity for him. She remembered Roark in high school and how he used to be then. Same old shy, socially awkward kid, but possessed a high level of toughness and intelligence. He used to be a really clever kid and geology was his primarily interest. Ah those good old days!

"_Aww come on, wimp! What's stopping you? Too scared or Meowth got your tongue?" _

_Roark winced; he was currently facing his arch enemy Kentaro. A guy who he hated and couldn't stand at all! _

"_Just leave me alone. Can't you see I'm busy?" he spouted while studying a conglomerate rock. "Now if this were to be put in any longer, would it ever become mica..." he contemplated aloud. Geology was one of his talents and his life's passion. He remembered the day he collected the fossil as a child and his passion for rocks and mining escalated ever since. Nothing in this world could stop him from this. _

_Sadly, that was to be crushed when he felt a hard kick and a stomp on his back. It hurt like a slip disc, which is torture. He turned round to see his spiteful enemy right behind. He cringed in anger. "What do you want?!" he yelled throatily._

"_You. Get your sorry butt up and start battling. I don't care how bleeping sick your Cranidos is!" Kentaro spat. Roark was furious- just two days ago, Kentaro's minions had battered the life out of the poor dinosaur. "In your dreams sucker." He smirked smugly. A few girls fainted. Nobody had the guts to swear at Kentaro before, least of all his enemies. _

"_That's it! Take this!" he yelled as he ripped Roark's pokeballs off his belt and then smashed them to the ground, the lifted him up and kicked him twice in the stomach. Roark was really hurt, but no signs of it were on his face. "I'm giving you a last warning- battle me now! Else you'll face the consequences."  
Kentaro warned him coldly. "Not happening, love." Said Roark coldly. This really hit Kentaro and made him furious. He then held Roark by his hair and began to pummel him and pulverise him so hard that the others almost wept for poor Roark who was seriously in agony, but did as much as he could to resist. Finally, his hands aching from assault; Kentaro dropped Roark down and walked off laughing with his minions off to class while Roark lay bleeding and injured. He certainly was no sight for soar eyes._

_Others scampered off, but he still lay there aching like hell until a group of girls came to him and saw the poor injured soul. They gasped "Oh my! How did this happen?" Roark smiled. "Just the usual catfights." The girls weren't convinced. "We have to get you to a hospital! Now!" exclaimed their leader as they all lifted him and took him to the school hospital where he lay still injured and agonised. Over there, he met a strange woman who was really nice to him. She was tall and graceful. Her hands were nimble and smelled of perfume. She had long beautiful hair of auburn and was really pretty. Of course, that was his nurse, named Camellia after the flower and she was a beauty indeed._

_Over those recuperating weeks, she had taken a strong liking to Roark and had a motherly fondness for him. One day, she just barge in and gave him some of her comfort soup, flavoured with rosemary. "Thank you so much for taking care of me..." he said weakly. Camellia laughed. "That's my job, hun! I ought to thank you for being such an angel in general- the other guys are so rough! You really shouldn't be getting back in them fights, laddie! So to cheer ya up, I've got you a surprise... meet my daughter!" Roark smiled- she was always so full of energy._

_And there she was- a beautiful auburn-brunette girl who was considerably short, rather as tall as him. She had hazel brown eyes which were really alluring and the shades of green she wore just made her look even prettier- Roark was no poet, but this was what was in his mind. Even if he wasn't in love with her the minute she spoke... "Morning, patient! Great to see you! Your name?" Roark was taken aback- this really wasn't what he expected, but he still liked her anyway. "Roark. Yours?" he inquired. She beamed like and angel and said "Gardenia! Great to meet you!_

And so did their great saga begin. Irritating as Gardenia was, he couldn't help but like her energy and zest for life. It was something that was so blooming appealing! For no reason whatsoever, it was just... sweet.

"Hey, Roark? Do you think we'll still be this close when we are gym leaders? You know, being best friends and all." Gardenia confessed. Roark was taken aback. "What? Best friends? Oh, for Arceus' sake Gardenia- we met in our sophomore year and didn't talk till the end of our major year!" he admitted bluntly. That really hurt Gardenia but she still gave a bitter smile. "Maybe, yeah. I never know. Anyway, let's get home! I am so excited for tomorrow's coronation!" she blurted.

"I really don't know if we can call it a coronation..." Roark mumbled to himself. "Pardon?" Gardenia loved eavesdropping, especially on his words, even if they made no sense. "Wha-? Nothing, nothing at all!" Roark interjected. He really wasn't looking forward to coming the next day and that was for sure. Especially since he had more pressing, better things to do..."__


	3. Disappeared Like Air

Disappeared Like Air

At long, long last, the day of the 'coronation' had arrived. Cynthia's second villa, rather mansion was absolutely decked up in the best decorations ever with everything in perfection from the swimming pools to the loos- it was clearly a place for royalty; that was the impression she made. At late evening, when the doorbell rang, a long gloved hand opened it. And there she was- Cynthia. This time she was wearing a long orange halter dress with a side split and a tiny jewelled hair band with white stilettos. She looked as if dressed for a prom, but why wouldn't she?

She'd just been elected champion.

"Welcome, please! Do come in!" she greeted all her guests cheerfully and also secretly analysing what each of them were wearing. There were tons of them; the few selected ones seemed so many- Gardenia, Fantina, Crasher Wake, Volkner, Maylene, very young as she was, Candice, then in middle school, Byron and Riley, the previous candidate. No sign of Roark anywhere.

"Welcome to the 10th anniversary of Gym Leader Selections! I am so excited to have all of you over here! I am Cynthia; the new champion! So great to see you!" All of them seemed excited, even Volkner. "Now, as per our rules, you will each have to compete with each other using the classic out of the hat trick. Pick one and see who your opponent is. We'll have the battling in 10 minutes near my pool and then of course drinks afterward!" she instructed. This was pretty exciting of course. Fantina and Crasher Wake were still young, so this was a great moment for them to have fun.

Gardenia on the other hand was worried sick; where was Roark? It was already starting and he was usually punctual. She tried to call him, but Cynthia laid her iron hand in front of her "Sorry miss, no personal calls until the battle is over." Gardenia reluctantly agreed, although she was worried sick too strongly. Where was he?

After sticking in some more hair gel in his lustrous red hair, he took a last look in the mirror. "Perfect. I do look like a ladies' man!" he remarked to himself and then popped his pokeball into his belt. He looked really stunning that day, a dark grey tuxedo with a blue tie and no glasses; a real ladies' man. After stumbling into his door though, Roark deduced that he definitely needed his glasses and then wore them, but he still looked like a handsome devil. Then he went to the door and opened it and smiled; she was here.

A tall model was standing at the door. She had long brown hair, was fair and had eyes of slate grey. It wasn't hard to see why she was a model, she was so beautiful! Her long blue sparkling lace dress made her look like a goddess and she had diamond earrings shaped like Roselia.

"Hello, Luciana. I'm so glad you could make it!" Roark exclaimed nervously giving her red roses. She took them and took a whiff. "Hardly has any smell... Anyway, forget it. You're Roark, right? Boy, you're cute!" she remarked as they walked to his car and drove off to a restaurant not too far from his house. It was a large garden restaurant which had a very Parisian feel to it and wasn't too expensive either. A quaint and beautiful feel was all around and tons of flowers were there. Roark then gallantly let Luciana sit. She rolled her eyes after scanning the place once. "Seriously, what is this place? A restaurant or wedding?" she remarked. Roark blushed "It's a really good restaurant." He replied. She stared at him condescendingly. "I'll take your word for it." She said coldly.

They then took their orders. "I'll have an au gratin, please!" Luciana ordered. "Fish and chips for me. If not fish, put bangers in please!" Roark ordered. Luciana rolled her eyes- was this the unclassiest man she ever met or what?

Gardenia was watching an intense battle. Fantina and Crasher Wake were on their last Pokémon and the battle was so thrilling that Volkner was actually recording it! The last few stages were up and it was still as thrilling as ever.

"Alright, mon ami Drifblim- use Ominous Wind!" Fantina screeched. Crasher Wake smiled. "You really know how to make battles fun, miss. Floatzel, use Razor Wind!" The other face palmed- what was he thinking?

Floatzel jumped high in the air and then whipped up his whirlwind there. Now high up, he attempted to counter the Ominous Wind with the powerful Razor Wind, only to figure out late that it wouldn't affect her, which made Floatzel fall down and hit him quite hard. "Alright, Drifblim- use Psychic!" yelled Fantina smiling smugly. He seemed relatively unfazed by this though, and then instructed and then told Floatzel "Alright, buddy- I want you to use Whirlpool!" The others watched in awe as the attack was then put to use and because of the nature of psychic, the water began to levitate. Fantina was distracted by this sight; seeing this he smiled and then said "Okay, Floatzel- now use Ice Fang and hit the whirlpool hard!" Floatzel did that and in seconds, a large gushing vortex of water combined with a hard, icy bite knocked the balloon out cold.

Fantina was astounded by this- Wake really was clever!

They had a standing ovation and Fantina joined in to; quite contrary to what Wake would expect. "Congrats, Crasher! You are now officially the gym leader of Pastoria City!" Cynthia called out onto the microphone while the others were still cheering the victor. "That was tres fantastique, thanks for the battle!" Fantina commented. "Err... you're welcome?" Wake replied and then high-fived his new colleague. He was really happy- Pastoria had always been close to his heart and Hearthome City was great for Fantina's contest, she'd been tired of travelling anyway.

Gardenia was still not enjoying any of this. It had been hours since this happened and there was still no sign of Roark. Where was that guy? Volkner suddenly walked up to her and said "Wasn't that amazing?" Gardenia smiled "Yeah sure was. Good luck on yours!" Volkner was blushing "Well, I didn't train Luxray for nothing... Wish me luck!" he yelled while running off to Flint for some last minute advice. Gardenia sighed- she liked Volkner, but right now Roark was her priority. When has it never been?

She excused herself and went outside to the garden, which was typical of her, so no suspicions as such. Then she quickly dialled his number and frantically whispered "Come on.. Pick up!"

Roark was meanwhile having a blast with his date that was busy eating and talking to Roark about life in general. "So, what do you think of gardens and flowers?" he asked her. "Gardens, okay. Flowers- they're alright. I don't like them very much." She answered. Roark sighed- was there anything she really liked? Then he popped up "What do you think about Pokémon?"

Luciana stopped eating and said "Pokémon? Wow, what a question! When I was younger, I wanted to be a master trainer myself, you know. I enjoyed being with them, the best being my Budew- she was a real beauty and I wanted her to be a Roserade. But after winning the second gym with a lot of difficulty, I realised that as much I tried to raise them with care, they were heavily under levelled and that my Budew couldn't stand me!" Roark was amazed. "So what did you do next?" he asked after popping down a banger.

"So I just released them and threw away the capsules in the river. Modelling has been my passion since." Roark was astounded. Did people like her ever exist before? Soon, it was time for him to leave and he dropped her off and when he did, he got a call and picked it up. "Hello?" he asked. "Where the hell are you? I've been waiting for you for aeons now, you nuthead! Don't you know how late you are?!" a voice boomed. Roark sighed- it was Gardenia, who else?

"Look, Garda; I'm, busy. Can I call you later?" he said and then cut it. "Hello? Hello?!" Roark then turned his attention to Luciana who spoke "That was a very good date. I like it." Roark blushed. I'm glad you liked it." He confessed. Then he kissed her on the cheek and she didn't protest. "Goodnight." They wished each other and then Roark left for the gym party.

He snuck into the garden with great difficulty- climbing stuff wasn't his forte. He then slipped and fell onto something soft and heard a scream. He turned round and saw he was on Gardenia! "Get off of me!" she yelled pulling his hair. "I sure will if you stop pulling my hair! It's just bogging me down!" he retorted and then got off her in 3 tries. He then helped her up.  
"Hey, you okay?" he asked her tenderly only to be responded to with a slap. "You idiot! You deliberately skip this day and go off cruising with someone for what?! Don't you get it- your leader status could have been recalled!" she screamed. Roark shrugged. "I was busy, Gardenia. So stop taunting me."

"Are you insane?! Riley quit because he wanted to give you the gym position! Now we'll have to do this whole thing all over again- in two weeks! And I'd worked and waited so much for this day, which is now screwed up because of you!" she screamed. Roark gulped- what was going on? Gardenia was almost in tears. "Seriously, Roark- what were you thinking?" He sighed and then lay on the grass, following which Gardenia followed suit. "You really wanna know? Okay, I'll tell you. I'm in love." Gardenia turned round in disbelief. "Yes, I went out with the plastic models' sister. Her name is Luciana and she is really cute." He crooned dreamily. Gardenia was seemingly interested, albeit a little disheartened. "Tell me more." She said. "Okay. She is tall, beautiful and looks like an enchanting goddess- like an incarnation of Cresselia herself! We went out to the Flora Wilder restaurant for our date, and I had a great time! I think she likes me too, you know..." he confessed. "Isn't it a bit too early for being in love, it being the first date and all?" Gardenia interjected. "I don't know... I felt really fluttery in my stomach when I saw her, and I think she's really hot. That's sign enough, isn't it?" he replied.

"Yeah, probably." She said sadly and then grabbed his hair. "But I still have to give you payback for that fiasco you caused!" she smirked naughtily and then started pulling it and ruffling it. "Stop it, stop it, Gardy!" he ordered and the found himself chasing her round and ruffling her hair too and just having fun playing until she started to noogie him. "Aaaargh the pain! Gardy, please! We aren't teens anymore!" he moaned. "Come on, I told you, it's punishment! Now feel my wrath!" she scolded and then kept doing this until his face turned red and she left him. "Better." She said smugly, but not for long, for Roark then countered by noogieing her back and it really made her cringe.

"Roark, stop!" she moaned.

"Not until you catch me! Tag, you're it!" he teased while tapping her shoulder and running off. She gleefully joined him and started to chase him till his house. She certainly knew they were to be much more than just friends, that's for sure! But when will anyone learn to see from her perspective?...


	4. Turning Twist

Turning Twist

"Come on, Chimchar! Use Ember attack!"

"Cranidos, use Headbutt!"

The fire monkey went ahead and let off a powerful array of flames for its age and hit the Cranidos who sadly enough was so overcome by the fire, it fainted much to Roark's shock and dismay.

"Cranidos is unable to battle. Pepp wins!" the referee yelled. Roark just sighed. "I am amazed by your performance, kid. You have done really well, I'm sure you'll be a great trainer in the future, but you must get tougher!" he congratulated the boy and gave him the Coal Badge which made him feel like the king of the world; except it was a fake. Pepp, the boy looked at Roark hopefully. "Will he evolve now?" he asked. "It was a fake battle, but I'm sure he'll become a million times stronger than he was before!" Roark assured. Pepp was his neighbour's kid and a friend of his, which would probably be a real bonus when Roark would become the leader, but then again time alone will tell.

Suddenly, he heard his cell phone ring. "Excuse me, Pepp." He said politely, following which Pepp skipped off with his much more muscular Chimchar. "Hello?" Roark spoke following which he heard a wail of distress. "Roarky! I'm in such a real bind, a soup or rather a bound up soup.. Or soupy bind, whatever! Please help me!" Roark sighed- who else would it be?

"Yes, Gardenia, speak love." Roark answered while signalling Pepp to leave. Gardenia was crying on the phone this time which worried him a bit; she'd only cry if she were really in anguish. "Waaaah! My life sucks! I don't know whether my Roselia should evolve or not? Should she become a Roserade or should she not? I'm in such a real distressing jam- I just don't know what to do with my life anymore! I do have the stone though..." She was really disappointed with everything. Roark fumed. "So you are trying to tell me, you went ahead and called me up just for this?!" Gardenia made a sound of assent which Roark picked up. "Look, Gardy; I don't know what you are thinking, but seriously, if you feel she wants to evolve and you can handle this kind of change, then go ahead. Else, just wait for it; I'm sure she knows when she wants to grow up, for Arceus' sake!" he answered. "But how will I know?" she asked. "Tell her in two simple sentences. If she accepts, she'll take it and evolve, if she doesn't; you know it isn't time. That's all to it." He answered. "Now goodbye..."

"Wait!" she yelled so loudly Roark could've sworn his ears would have burst. "What now?" he sighed tiredly. "There's something else I have to tell you!" she crooned. He quickly ran outside his house to his 'garden' which had more rocks than plants. "Sorry, love; lack of range there." He explained. Then Gardenia crooned dreamily "Please, Roark... talk in that beautiful pseudo-British accent of yours... It's so heavenly!" Roark turned scarlet- what the hell was he asked to do? It was unbelievable!

"Repeat. I didn't follow." Said he. "I mean, you know those times you fake that English accent of yours?" she said referring to a mannerism he acquired back in high school. "I love it! I wish I could make it as well as you could!" she sighed jealously. "Really? Is that it?" he moaned. "Yup, that's it!" she replied cheerfully. He really didn't have much of a choice now, did he? He took a deep breath and spoke-:

"Speak to me, my dear love! What possibly could be the matter of you rejecting my societal acquaintance? Am I not desirable enough for your society, my dear lady? Or is it more than what it seems..."

Gardenia was so excited; she started squealing inside the phone itself. "That was brilliant!" she squealed in delight. "I love the way you say it! I mean, it's just beautiful, Roarky! Oh if I had a British accent, I'd never ever shut up..." Roark sighed mentally. "Arceus forbid that!'' Then he spoke to her. "You really want to know such a pivotal point, right? Then why not come over to my place? You clearly haven't seen the city in its real side anyway and we could have a battle if desired! My Cranidos really needs the training!" Gardenia was silent- was he serious? "Really?" was all she could muster. He smiled and spoke "Why of course! After all, there is so much I have to show you round here!" Gardenia was astounded- Roark was pretty much asking her out!

"Why of course I would, dummy! Who wouldn't?" she replied. "Pardon me?" Roark inquired. She immediately turned away from the receiver. "Nothing special, as such!" she said dismissively. "Okay." He replied. "Meet me at 7:00" and turned his phone off then sauntering around his garden which he called it. It wasn't much, really; just a large patch of grassland with tons of rock sculptures, rather just scattered rocks, here, there and everywhere. Seeing all the different kinds he'd mined, he ought to have gotten an award for this- if only they recognised its worth. Then again, what did he care? All he ever needed in life was his rocks, Pokémon and a girlfriend. He was getting older and nobody wanted to date him ever back in his teenage years. He never even had a father figure then, which just made it worse. Yet Luciana was so alluring to him, no matter how much she reminded him of Byron.

Hours later, which felt like minutes, Roark heard a bell ring. Groggily, he got off his bed and walked over to the door really tiredly and reluctantly, still furious; opened the door only to see Gardenia- dressed up in a crinoline dress of green and yellow, rather chartreuse. Roark was stunned. "Gardenia? Why the sudden get up?" he asked. She eyed him carefully. "Are you drunk or something?" "N...No! I was asleep- I never do anything until like eight." He answered curtly. Then he let her inside. "Care for tea?" he asked her gallantly. Gardenia blushed. "No, thank you, kind sir!" she replied playfully which made Roark smile. He often role played some games with her of being princesses and knights, even at that age! It was too much of fun, with his Cranidos being his 'horse' and her then Budew a secret informer; it helped even less that they were 16 years old then...

Roark then decided to get changed. "I'm off to my room... Will be out in five minutes... oh my shirt's here!" he realised and then lifted it to wear. He then removed his pj shirt and then speaking to Gardenia "Say, what have you been doing lately, with gym tryouts being postponed and all?" Gardenia was mortified- she couldn't move! Roark was right in front of her, shirtless and all- she never realised his lean body would be so...hot! She was blushing in all shades of red and couldn't speak. Roark was so handsome, so different from his sissy like exterior... which she found rather attractive.

"What?" he asked her confused as he then put his shirt on. Gardenia was still living in the fantasy- a shirtless Roark, with those glasses and that red hair- on what wasn't there which turned her on? The very thought sent shudders down her spine- it was just exhilarating!

Roark then asked her "Wanna go for a walk with me?" Gardenia blushed and said "Sure! I'd love to! Can Roselia come too?" she quickly interjected. "Err...sure!" Roark answered awkwardly. "Why is she behaving like this?" he wondered. Then he brought Cranidos outside too with him. "Come on, bud! Let's go out!" he seemed excited as they went outside. "So, where next?" he asked. "How about Eterna Forest?" she asked him. "Sounds okay... last one reaching is a Magikarp!" he teased as he ran. "Wha... hey! I ain't letting you off this one!" she said as she ran after him, with a new feeling overcoming her...


	5. Play Date

'Play' Date

Hanging around in Eterna Forest was fun. Roark and Gardenia were having the time of their lives, studying rocks and chasing beautifly respectively. Life was such a breeze and walking together was even more fun where they just played about and had fun with their Pokémon.

Of course, Oreburgh City too was great fun. Roark had an amazing time showing his new 'best friend' around the mines- gosh he'd never stop talking like ever! It was actually rather interesting, compared to what Gardenia was thinking, this was actually fun! When he showed her the deeper parts of thee mine, she was petrified, but he let her go in anyway.

"Okay, the trick is to go down really carefully down these hard rocks and not to once lose sight of your steeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Roark was so close to falling down- he could die down that ravine! Gardenia gasped and quickly grasped his hand, saving him. They were both breathing heavily for a few seconds, out of shock and relief. He looked at her pathetically which made her smile slowly. "Oh, Roarky! Do you have no sense of carefulness?" she joked. Roark was still sweating in panic, but warmed up when Gardenia pulled him up. "Thank you!" he said gratefully to the young lady who was rather stunned. "Maybe not the mine... how about somewhere else? He suggested. Gardenia still as persistent as ever, declined. He agreed and showed her the whole place and even how to dig out a few spheres.

"Now you try it!" said he after showing the live demonstration. "Okay...I will try!" Gardenia then took a deep breath and lifted the huge thing with all her might. It made her shake and wobble a bit, almost toppling her over. "Look, if you can't, it's okay!" he assured. Gardenia, not the weak spirit, started to hit at it and in 20 minutes, hit onto something hard and to her delight- it was a green sphere! She was amazed- was this the stuff Roark looked for everyday? "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. Roark smiled- "Keep it. It would look really pretty on you as a necklace." Gardenia blushed at the compliment- but why? Then they went out and got walking again. "Hungry yet?" Roark asked her. "Nah. Let's go to Eterna Forest!" she suggested. They agreed and got there where they were just fooling around and playing with each other's Pokémon until they were bushed.

While they were relaxing, Cranidos and Roselia were trying to get to know each other better. Man, were they carbon copies of their trainers! Cranidos was playing with her, but when Roselia started to get flirty, he quickly dismissed it with a resounding roar which could've clearly woken up the whole forest! "Cranidos! Stop yelling!" Roark scolded which made the rock dinosaur hang its head in shame. Then he turned to Gardenia. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked tenderly. "Err, yeah! Yes I am!" she answered gingerly. Roark sighed in relief. "Say, how about a battle? Our Pokémon are clearly interested in each other1" Gardenia suggested. Roark smiled "Maybe, okay. Now?" he asked her. She got up and posed. "Oh yeah, you're on! Come on Roselia!"

But just as she got up, she shuddered. Roark looked at her in intrigue. "Hey, what happened?" he asked her. Gardenia didn't speak. "Hey, I thought you hate bugs! But wait... I do! There aren't any bugs in here? They carry diseases!" he exclaimed frightened while Cranidos clung to him. Gardenia emotionlessly spoke "Nah, none. Besides; what's the big deal about them? You have Cranidos and he's a rock type!" while rolling her eyes. Embarrassed, Roark just slipped away and then said "Okay, let's battle!" Gardenia was then about to call out on Roselia when she heard that eerie sound again; it certainly wasn't pretty. "Hey, what happened? You're so... lost!" Roark stated. Gardenia was shivering now; this was too much for her to bear. "Are you going to say something or not!?" Roark interjected irritably. Gardenia heard that creepy effect yet again; this was it- the one thing she always dreaded for life.

Finally, not able to keep herself in check anymore, she ran to Roark and hugged him passionately. Roark was taken aback- what was with her? "Gardenia... what happened?" he asked. "I...I just can't take it anymore! There are tons of ghost Pokémon around here and they freak me out! They are the one thing I'm petrified of for life! I can't even explore the Old Chateau because of that- I hate them, I'm just so frightened- Roark, please help me!" she wailed clinging to him like a limpet.

"What the heck? Gardenia!" he was going to complain when she hugged him tighter and screamed "Roark, save me!" Now almost jumping into his arms, which freaked him out. He gulped- he never even got to see a ghost Pokémon before. Roselia herself was scared, clinging to Cranidos from behind and clasping his chest making him blush in embarrassment. Figuring there was no choice, Roark reluctantly agreed. Bending to Roselia, he told her tenderly "Come on! I'll save your mistress! But you'll have to help me." He then beckoned Cranidos to his side and saw the dreaded Pokémon- it wasn't a usual at all, like he even knew?

This was no Gastly, this was a Misdreavus and a rather scary one. Roark shuddered- he believed ghosts to be that of myths! Gardenia was still petrified and clinging to him. He then mustered his courage and called Cranidos forward, more so because he couldn't escape!

Misdreavus was eyeing Cranidos rather strangely, as if it were... food! Roark had it; Cranidos was no Pokémon mush! He then ordered Cranidos to leer at it, but Misdreavus was smarter. He quickly used astonish and confuse ray in spilt seconds, which sadly hit on him. Roark face palmed- this was getting nowhere!

Misdreavus then went high in the air and tried using Psywave, but Cranidos dodged it and raced to protect Roselia who was shocked to the core. Roark smiled- his boy was in love! Then he quickly ordered "Okay, Cranidos- use leer twice in a row!" which Cranidos executed perfectly, almost intimidating the ghost. Then Roark yelled "Okay, Pursuit!" which sadly enough missed. Misdreavus then went ahead and used Confuse Ray again which really made him dizzy. Roark face palmed- what was he to do now? Cranidos started walking around like a drunkard and he could do nothing about it. Worse, Misdreavus also used Spite onto Pursuit, which was the worst predicament ever!

Now Cranidos was totally vulnerable to attack, self and enemy. With that successful, Misdreavus then used astonish, which would've made him flinch anyway and them Mean Look. Roark almost died- he was so screwed!

Suddenly, an idea got to his head. Looking at his Cranidos, he quickly went and snapped his fingers, making him sane again. Mentally victory dancing, Roark then had a surge of confidence. "Right, Cranidos, use leer and then finish off with pursuit!" he yelled. This was pretty much it, for now the ghost's defence was so low, he would've died anyway.

Gardenia, still shocked suddenly felt something on her back. She turned round in horror and saw the Misdreavus attempting to attack her. In shock, she fainted. Roark was mortified seeing this- that Pokémon pu8shed the line too far!

"Alright, Cranidos! Do it. And a repeated attack of Pursuit will help!" he exclaimed following which Cranidos used the dark attack on the Misdreavus, making it flinch and really frightened. Roark smiled- this would work. Seeing the Pokémon still intact, though; he had a better plan. "Okay, Cranidos, more Pursuit! And Roselia, dear- use Magical Leaf along with it!" he yelled. Roselia just had to agree and then the two combined attacks finished off the Misdreavus, making it flee in horror. Roark high fived Cranidos and hugged him- he really deserved it.

"There you go! That's my boy! Keep doing this and one day we'll be the strongest gym leaders in the whole world!" he exclaimed hugging Cranidos who loved this. Then he saw Roselia and patted her head "Thanks for the help, dear. You saved your mistress!" he said while Roselia blushed and then inched towards Cranidos while Roark was okay with that and then tried to revive Gardenia. Now, everything failed and there was no water. What was he to do now? He remembered an old tactic and as much as he hated it; someone had to do it.

He leaned himself and pursed his lips together. He then, embarrassed, brought Gardenia's closer to his- it worked once. Then the minute they were close, she woke up and Roark quickly got her back. "Uhh... what happened? Did the ghost go?" she mumbled. Roark smiled and nodded. "Sure it did, dear." Said he. Gardenia then saw his eyes and almost melted into them. Then tears filled her eyes. "Oh, Roark... THANK YOU!" she exclaimed and hugged him which made him feel weird. He'd never been hugged by her ever, least of all at this time. All the same, he let her- she was pretty warm, after all.

Suddenly, she froze and moved away. Roark was amazed- what was going on? Then he heard an ear-splitting scream which made him shudder and shout out- "What was that?! Gardenia! Are you okay?!" only to see her smiling innocently and then wickedly saying "Ha ha! So got you, didn't I?" Roark smiled. "You are SO gonna pay for that!" he said and then chased her round the forest for fun while Cranidos and Roselia did the same. He chased her round and round and Gardenia was beating him thoroughly until he had an idea. He then lifted her by the waist and carried her on his back. "Roark! Stop it! Help!" she wailed. Roark smiled pleasantly to himself- being evil ruled! "Oh, come on, now?" he teased. Then when he felt tired of carrying her, he dropped her down and then paused for a breather. Then he felt something tug at his hair and he groaned. "Ow! Stop yanking it" as Gardenia kept pulling his hair and playing with him, so much so she almost toppled into his arms. She did and then stroked his hair, making him feel odd. The she said seductively "Take you hat off." Roark was stunned. "What?" Gardenia laughed. "I've never got to see your full head! Have you got a bald spot or something?" Mockingly furious, he noogied Gardenia. "Ouch, Roark! Have you no compassion for a woman?" she groaned. He laughed. "If it's not you, I do." Gardenia then tackled back and noogied him again, which really hurt- she had strong hands and even stronger fists. Roark was pretty tired, but then it turned playful and she fell into his arms yet again, this time Roark almost leaned back.

Then, Gardenia felt something onto her hand. Something supple, sweaty and yet so tantalising. She turned scarlet when she saw what it was- Roark's chest. His shirt had ripped a bit and she was just touching it! "Gaaah!" he quickly pulled her hands away, albeit she loved the feel- it was so beautiful!

"Err, Gardy? Can you get off me? It's choking!" he said weakly. Gardenia then got out of his arms and helped him up and then stared at the stars, something she loved doing with Roark. "Hey, Roark? When we'll become gym leaders, will we still be this close?" she asked while lying down. He turned to her and said "Sure, why not? It'll be great!"Gardenia then turned wistful "You know, we'll become so preoccupied with everything... will we still have time for each other?" This shocked Roark greatly. It never occurred to him. Then he playfully caressed her face and said "Sure we will. If you don't, I will!" this touched and flattered Gardenia greatly- was he really the right guy for him? After all, he was really hot and so was his touch. "Besides, you're fun to be with!" he confessed smiling. This made Gardenia flush with embarrassment; what was happening to her?

Then it occurred to her while talking to him. She just might, possibly might be having not just a crush, but a greater, deeper affection for him...


	6. Best Night Out

Best Night Out

Sipping her drink nervously, Gardenia waited till her two girl pals finished their conversation. "So what you are trying to say is... you like him?" said Cheryl. Candice of course started giggling while Maylene went to play tennis with Wake. "Well, it's not like that..." Gardenia mumbled embarrassingly. Candice just giggled again while Cheryl started nudging her. "It's so obvious- you like him! Every time we talk about him, I see your face turn a deep shade of scarlet or wine red- no denying that!" Gardenia winced- Cheryl knew everything about her. Was she seriously her best friend or psychic?

Roark meanwhile, was being his usual calm self, busy reading some piece of paper rather earnestly. "Err, dude! Papers are over here!" one guy called out to him. Roark rolled his eyes. "Not now, Riley. I'm busy!" he sighed what was with these guys? Suddenly, he felt a towering shadow above him. "W...what?" he asked nervously. "A prescription? For what?" came the reply. Roark sighed- why was Riley so vindictive? That was one thing he couldn't stand, even though they were best friends. Then, Riley spotted something inside his pocket. It was shiny, almost iridescent. "Oh, what's this?" he asked sneakily and then quickly pulled it out. "Oooh! A necklace!" he exclaimed nudging his other guy pals. "Wonder who this is for? It couldn't be for you now, is it?" making Roark blush.

"Gardenia." He muttered. "The carving classes came in handy." Riley's smile turned more playful. "I never heard the lucky lady's name! Spit it out louder- we all want to know!" he cajoled. Roark was really mad- he knew the guys would get the wrong impression about everything!

"I still wonder, Roark- why did you date someone and not tell us?" Riley asked playfully. "Yeah, it wouldn't be that much of a secret anyway, you being so close to being a gym leader and all!" another guy chirped. Roark was slowly losing it- that's why he hated telling Riley anything. "Besides, where were you last night? We called you up a million times!" Roark winced- "I was out." He admitted. Riley's smile crooked. "Oooh, out you say? At such a time? With who- the model or the singer?" he questioned. "Neither." Came his cold reply. "Wonder who that is- could it be any gym leader to be?" he cooed naughtily. Finally, he couldn't take it.

"Look, it's for my female best friend. And no, we are not lovers!" he blurted. This was surprising; Roark had never been so firm before which mildly frightened Riley. Then he regretfully gave the necklace back. "Sorry, bud. Kind of got too curious." He confessed. Roark then beamed "That's okay." As he went back to hanging out with the again- Riley was his best friend for 10 years, nothing could ever change that, no matter how manipulative he could be.

Gardenia on the other hand, was still chatting; but with a heavy heart. They were now talking only about her presumed 'crush' and this was annoying her. "Guys- what's the whole deal of talking about a guy? Can't you see I'm just as important?!" she blurted. Candice turned round and spoke "When did we ever care about any guy? It's you who is!" "What? No way I don't!" she exclaimed dismissively. "Yeah you do..." Cheryl said slowly and disconcertingly. "That's a fact." This was irritating he no end- why were they so persistent on that?!

Roark meanwhile, was tried, so he went home. After bidding his pals goodbye, he went out and walked over to a dispensary for something really special. Something that could just change his life forever!

Gardenia was getting too tired of this whole thing. Finally, she screamed out "I've had it! Roark is not my lover, never was and never will be- problem?" Candice and Cheryl shuddered- when Gardenia was angry she was the Incredible She Hulk part two. But suddenly, they just said "Doesn't that ever annoy you?" while secretly giggling. Slamming her fist onto the table, she looked into their eye and said "No! It doesn't. Besides, I don't like him anyway!" Now they were confused. "Well then..." Candice begun. "If you don't like him, then who does? I mean, he is a really sweet guy from what we've heard." Cheryl nodded in agreement. "I mean, he is rather submissive, but a real sweetheart. Isn't that what made you guys so close in high school?" she continued. "He is a bit of a dork though- I saw him once. He is obsessed over fossils and kind of nerdy. Especially those glasses." Candice shivered "Glasses? Isn't that so totally lame?" she asked. Cheryl agreed which made Gardenia kind of uncomfortable. Finally, after hearing enough insults of her boy, she then yelled "Shut up! It isn't his fault that he is this way? Can't any of you accept him for what he is?"

They looked at her in disbelief. "I thought you said you didn't like him!" Candice retorted.

"That's because I don't like him at all...I...I...I love him!"

Cheryl could have just passed out hearing this. Candice was amazed herself. Then Gardenia hung her head in shame. "There; I said it. Now what?" she muttered weeping. The two girls then squealed and hugged her. "Congrats Gardy! That's our best pal alright!" Gardenia was dumbfounded- were they serious? Then she was relieved when they said "We know you, Gardy. He's a great guy; I'm sure he deserves you!" Gardenia then embraced her friends back. "Thanks guys. You're the best!" Friends like them totally ruled- she thought!

Then she took leave of them and went out, wondering what had she just said. "Roark... do I really love him?" she wondered still embarrassed. She had a crush on him since major year and thought it might just go when she dated Nando; but it only intensified and persisted. Now she really knew what she felt for him- love.

She then kept walking until she bumped into you know who. Roark turned round and smiled. "Hey Gardenia! What brings you here?" he asked cheerfully. Gardenia wanted to say something romantic, but shut up seeing his hazel eyes. "Err, just going home, that's what." She answered. Roark smiled "Okay, sorry." And left. "Wait!" she called out to him. He turned round "Can I join you?" she asked. Roark laughed "Do you have to ask me?" Gardenia smiled "that's my line, loser!" as she raced behind and punched his shoulder- hard. Then she wasted no time in nooging him and punching his head. "Ha! Serves you right!" she proudly proclaimed. Roark just loved her bouncy energy and zest for life- it was just so enriching!

He then punched her arm. "Life's fun with you, Gardenia! I love it!" he confessed as he walked off, oblivious to the scarlet Gardenia. Suddenly, she saw the prescription fall from his overcoat pocket. "Huh? What's that?" she asked him. He quickly put that inside and walked ahead. "Come on, Roarky! What is it?" she asked him firmly. He was really crestfallen, but he had to tell her at some point. "Actually, Gardenia it is..." suddenly a hard push toppled him over and he landed into Gardenia's neck. He quickly grabbed hold of her shoulders while Gardenia grabbed his waist. She felt something soft on her neck, wet and mildly slobbery- she was shocked to figure it was his lips. She stayed statue while onlookers stared, but what was she to care. Was this really happening? Roark then pulled himself up. "Thanks for helping me! Oh... And sorry about that." He said blushing and worried- Gardenia would probably never talk to him for a million years!

She didn't say anything and just walked ahead. Roark took a peek at the guy who pushed him- he was dressed in a red hoodie and blue jeans. He gave an icy stare which Roark felt was so familiar. It unnerved him to an extent. Then he diverted his attention on when asked playfully "So, what are you doing on Sunday?" Roark was surprised. "Err, I'm going to stay back and watch a movie. Then train Cranidos; nothing new!" he answered. "Can I come along?" she asked making a puppy dog face. "Fine. You like butter popcorn?" he asked coldly. "Sure I do!" she answered sweetly which made him think about something.

After a few minutes, he asked her "Hey, Gardenia? Would I make a good father?" Gardenia was stunned. "Excuse me?!" she hollered. "You know, a dad? Because I've been thinking of something... I want to get married!" he confessed. Gardenia should have been excited, but instead angrily slapped him, making him wail. 'What was that for?!" he screamed. "You moron- how can you get married at such an age!? You are only twenty, Arceus-damn it!" she hollered straight into his ears. "Okay, okay! Look Gardenia; the thing is, I'm only telling you this; I love Luciana and I want life with her to continue!" he confessed. Her heart sank. Was she hearing straight?

"I really like her; as much as we've only been dating for a few days... and I really want to get serious with her now! Committed for life- like how it should be!" he confessed wistfully to which Gardenia swore she felt something wet and hot on her hands, getting hotter every second. It was tears of anguish- they really stirred the soul, but she made sure she wouldn't let him se them. Her throat was pulsing out of her body and her voice choked with emotion.

"And the prescription?" she asked worriedly. "Oh, come on- Gardenia; it's just one for eyes. I'm okay, no need to worry. I have a feeling you are crying... why?" he asked her tenderly. "Me? Crying? Nah, don't be silly!" she dismissed. "I know you are- I can see tears. Solid proof of it, love." He answered while hugging her consolingly. "Usually you tell me all your problems, why not now?" Gardenia couldn't be honest with him on this one- what would her feel? Besides, her heart was too broken to explain.

"Yawning sometimes induces tears, and I'm tired." She lied. Roark then smiled "Want an ice-cream? I'm taking blueberry." He offered. "Butterscotch with chocolate chips. No sprinkles- I hate 'em!" she answered. They then waited for one and ate it. Roark seemed to be having a great time while Gardenia just wistfully stood there and ate. Somehow ice cream just didn't seem to be fun anymore...


	7. Argumentum ad Hominem

Argumentum ad Hominem

"Are you serious? You want to get married like now?" Gardenia protested while nibbling chocolate chips. "Yeah, I do. I mean look at it this way; mom thinks I must be independent and even otherwise, these days I'm feeling really lonely. I mean, nobody dated me for 8 years and it did bog me down, now a hot model with a heart of gold is dating me- of course I'll be happy!" Roark answered. Then he turned round "besides, I really want to start a family. And do everything my father didn't do for me!" he said clenching his fists thinking of that man who he called his father, who may as well have just adopted him.

Gardenia felt a lot of strength going away. As it is she was becoming less and less of herself around him, what could be worse? Her identity meant everything to her, no matter how crazy people thought of her! Then she asked him "But, what about me?" He turned around "Gardenia, I'm sure you'll find lots of guys who really care for you and want you forever. I mean, just be yourself, that same free spirited angel you always were and guys will flock to you like Combee to a Roserade! I mean, just look at me- I'm a dork and a real incompetent clod. You will get guys who are so hot; you'll probably melt in their presence." He attempted to console her. But all Gardenia wanted to scream was "I want nobody, I want you!"

Then he walked away for a few steps until he felt something in his pockets. He realised something was in there, but just clung it close to him. "I'll keep it for her as a surprise." He muttered and left. Gardenia was just standing there in limbo- this was pretty much the same thing his father did to him- gave up his loves for his interests. She sighed and watched retreating figure fade away until it really was gone. Then she turned round and went home. So much for that confession!

Then she bumped into another guy. She looked up at him after picking up his stuff and hands it over. "Excuse me, miss." He said politely and left, but hen Gardenia interjected "Do I know you?" The man turned around. "Oh, you're Miss Gardenia, am I right?" asked. Gardenia smiled. "Yeah. I am. And you are?"

"Riley. Riley Parkers. Is something the matter?" he asked her kindly.

"You know Roark, right?" he asked him. Riley smiled- this was what was going on; unreciprocated love. He tended to be a bit oblivious to such stuff, the boy. Then he saw a little paper fall to the floor. "Oh, this thing is Roark's prescription. I wonder what it says; doctors have illegible handwriting." He observed audibly and then handed it to Gardenia. "Why not give it him? He isn't so far away?" He suggested. Gardenia looked at the paper and agreed. It was important to him, she felt.

As she ran up following him, she was surprised to have found him at a glasses store. "Did his new one break yet again?" she wondered. Then she saw him coming out with a paper bag in his hand and calmly walking out, until he saw Gardenia. "Oh, hi! What's up?" he asked her joyfully. "What's that thing in your hand?" she asked him. "Oh these, contact lenses." He answered. "These transparent ones, not cosmetic."

"Why on earth will you need them anyway?" she interjected. "Glasses suck. Besides; I really need these while gymming, wouldn't want to lose an eye now, will I?" he answered and then proceeded to leave when Gardenia smacked his back, his Achilles' heel. "Aargh! What the hell!?" he yelled as he turned to Gardenia. "You never liked contacts anyway! Why on earth are you going to wear them?!" she blasted. "Oh please, Gardenia. Glasses are not attractive, they are nerdy. And besides, Luciana liked those movie star looks; wouldn't mind doing this will I? I really don't care about my sights; t makes her happy!" he answered.

"But Roark, you can't wear them; you are far-sighted! They aren't going to work for you!" she insisted. Roark then exasperatedly told her "Riley sent you, right? Tell him it's my life and business and that Luciana will be my wife!" Gardenia was mortified by what was told to her, it made her feel frozen solid. "H...how?" was all she could mutter. "Where do you think I was shopping for two hours?" he asked her jauntily as he showed her the ring he was going to give her; gold ring with a sapphire in it. Gardenia was too shocked for words- not only was Roark going to marry so young, he was going to marry someone who was not her! Right now she was unable to control her tears; it was just consuming her too much. She struggled to hide her face with her hair and said "You're going to be married?"

"It's an engagement ring, sugar doll. We'll probably get married sometime soon, but not now. Some commitment will be useful, right?" he explained and then saw some salty liquid down her cheeks. "Are you crying?" he asked her while trying to brush away her hair. She quickly slapped his hand. "Stay away from me." She muttered which frightened Roark; this was completely unlike her at all. "Aww, come on gardenia! How about you be my bridesmaid? Or at least the maid of honour in our engagement? It'll be great having you there! Anyway, I'm off. Toodles!"

When he was about a mile away, he heard her piercing voice scream "You idiot! How could you be so foolhardy and condescending to a girl who's been your best friend for two years?!" Roark froze and turned round to see a crying, angry Gardenia. This was bad news; she had a bad temper and his dry brain hadn't a clue what she was on about. "I don't follow. What are you saying?" he asked stupidly.

"Roark, why are you being so cold and rude to me? All these days I felt so stifled in your presence, you've been so unfeeling of lately!" she questioned sadly. "What? What on earth have I done?" he asked irritably and surprised. "Done? You've done a blooming sacrilege to me! First you skip the gym selections to go out with a plastic girl, then you ask me to cover up for you and on top of that you tell me now that you are getting engaged? How could you be so inconsiderate?!" she yelled. Roark was intimidated, but still rather confused. "I can't tell you about this after the party now, can I?" he told her assuring. "Will I not be depressed if you are marrying a girl you clearly can't stand?" she blurted. Roark was stunned- this was going too far.

"But you haven't even met her! And I love her!"

"No you do not! Admit it; you won't be able to live with her even for a day when you are married!"

"You are just jealous because you couldn't find your right guy. Who asked you to break up with Nando in the first place anyway?"

"No I am not! I am just saying this because I care about you, and so does Riley! Else would we care who you were in love with?! Luciana is so plastic and cold; you'll never even live in the shadow of her eyes!"

"You are making less and less sense now, Gardenia! And screw Riley, what does he know? Wait...you told him?!"

"No, I didn't! He was talking about the lenses..."

"I can never trust you to keep a secret, can I? I am such an idiot for this kind of stuff! How on earth could I, why? You really haven't changed a bit, have you?" he muttered angrily, so much he was shaking. Gardenia was worried; this kind of anger could make him ill. Then he broke into a wry smile "Pff, I should have known. Trusting you was just as bad as believing my father would ever come back to me... you both are just the same; cruel, vindictive and cannot even decide one thing with your life; being obsessed and all." He spoke coldly, still shaking with fury and sweating. "I am nothing like your father!" She screamed "Besides, you deserved to be forsaken by him-"

"Shut up!" he yelled and slapped her straight across. Gardenia cringed as she clasped that portion, now swelling and rubicund. She then burst into sobs and Roark cooled down, immediately regretting what he did. Then, still furious he spoke "So typical of you." Only to be slapped back by Gardenia and harder with more fury and anguish. "You'll regret this!" she spoke as she walked away from him and they parted ways. Roark the spoke back finally "Don't bother finding yourself a guy. Free spirits like you are allergic to commitment..."

Gardenia just raced back home ignoring a concerned Riley, who was rather surprised by her behaviour of late. But who would? If she were in love with such a cold soul who knew nothing of love; and started getting violent, she clearly was making a mistake. Even if his glasses and supple figure were cute. She flopped down on her bed and wailed endlessly. Nothing could ever console her; Roark was her only true love and now he was gone! To a stupid, cold woman like Luciana. She was so much better than her; Luciana would only intimidate Roark to high extents and depress him. What really gelled them together was the fact that he and Gardenia treated each other like equals, and she was surely much more beautiful even without slathering makeup on her face.

Btu what was the use now? He had changed far too much...


	8. Rudest Shock

Rudest Shock

Flowers in hand and ring in his pocket, Roark was ready for his final date with Luciana. This was it this would be make it or break it and his entire life would be changed by this decision. He'd risked a lot for this and it would better be worth everything he gave up. He was really nervous, after all this was a first confession and he and Luciana had not even kissed yet. This was really hard, a hard battle.

Yet he couldn't help thinking of Gardenia. He was really regretful of assaulting her so coldly, even if the remarks she made about his father were over the top. Gardenia was mocking, but never insulting. It was totally unlike her character to behave this way; so he felt. All the same, what had he done? Luciana was pretty, clever and strong. In short she was perfect- what could possibly be wrong in her?

He walked nervously, albeit still guilt ridden by his actions. Slapping a woman was an outright act of cowardice, and Gardenia was his best friend. She was pretty much the only one who listened to all his problems and fears and could write both an encyclopaedia and a biography about him; probably even better than Riley. Roark sweated in guilt and basic fidgetiness. Was Arceus ever going to forgive him? He even felt a little tear fall onto his hand. "This is awkward." He wondered. "She is my best friend, but why would I feel so terrible doing this to her? I've punched Riley over a million times and yet it never made me cry... am I becoming weak?"

Later on, he shrugged the thought, or at least tried to. It might have really failed for the whole night he suffered nightmares of Gardenia trying to kill him or her dying... why did he do this? Yet he couldn't wonder- was marrying Luciana the right thing? It may bring him happiness, but would it be worth it? He thought of Gardenia's words long and hard. They plagued his mind for really long until he reached Luciana's destination. He knocked on the door and contemplated leaving, but when he set his eyes on her gorgeous form, he couldn't. She was wearing a long black dress that was more like an actress'. "Hello Roark." She said sweetly. "Hello, Luciana. May we leave?" he asked her politely, which was irritating him no end- he tried respecting women but such false politeness was never his thing! She agreed and went to the same garden restaurant he loved, with her sighing in tiredness of course.

They ate a normal dinner which Roark just couldn't enjoy; it seemed so plain and so baseless. "Here Cranidos, have my share too." Said he and then placed his past along with the gnocchi he ordered for him, which Cranidos wolfed down immediately, but felt sad. Why wouldn't he be? His master was sad too! Roark was still having a heavy heart. "Damn this guilt- why isn't it going yet?!" he wondered irritably. Then he approached Luciana and she stood there emotionlessly. "Yes, dear?" she asked him coldly. Roark was shivering, but he felt it was about time.

Dropping himself to the floor, he confessed "Luciana- you've been the light of my life. I really love you and would give up almost anything just to see that beautiful smile on your face- I really would, Luciana I do! So, in all that devotion I'd place for you, I really have to confess- I would do anything, swim the deepest sea, cross the hottest desert, work forever for anything you desire even if it kills me! So what I want to say is..."

Luciana looked at him acidly. "Go on."

Bending on his right knee, he spoke "Luciana... will you marry me? Or be my fiancée?"

Then he saw something approach him and Luciana. It was a large red car and a lady arrived from it. Slim figure, long blonde hair and wearing a faux gem dress; she arrived at the two lovebirds and stared at them condescendingly and then laughed. "Ha! Roark, you fell for it! You silly little nerd, you fell for my damn trick! Honestly, am I good or what?" Roark looked at her blankly- what the hell was she saying?

"Oh, Luciana! Tell him- tell this pathetic fool about your real social status, will you? Look at him- he looks just as good as a pauper in rags, am I right, Luciana?" she scoffed. Luciana was stunned herself that this was her sister's setup and said "Alright, Elisha. I will." Roark looked at her stunned "Luciana is this true?" he asked her hopefully. Standing up, she said "I'm sorry, Roark. I love being your date, but I can't accept." Roark felt crushed. Shocked as he was, he could still blurt out "why?"

"Because" Luciana said slowly "I'm married!" She then called out a butler looking guy out. "Roark, this is my husband; Boris." She introduced. Roark was so shocked, he couldn't speak. Muteness, grief and betrayal consumed him. He could neither move nor speak; and felt something actually started eating him inside. Elisha on the other hand burst out laughing. "Haha! Roark you stupid perverted fool! Did you actually think I would go for the likes of you? Setting you up with my sister was the best antic I have ever performed! It worked so well- this stuff rules! Face it, Roark, nobody likes you. So shut up and take that cheap quality obviously 12 carat ring away from here. Go out, begone!"

Roark was shaking, he knew not of what. "How could you..." he looked at Luciana. "I'm sorry, Roark. I was told you were a modelling contractor... as much as I loved your manners; I'm still amazed by my sister's stupid trick." She answered contritely clutching her husband's shoulder while he glared at his sister in law and then at Roark which made him shudder. "Face it, Roarky- life is no bed of roses, and especially with those looks. I'm not surprised that Jana thought of you as an eyesore!" she scoffed referring to his high school crush. He was furious- nobody was allowed to call him by that name. "Shut it! Nobody can call me by that name! Not one... Not except..." he was about to complete his last sentence when he passed out and fainted in shock and horror. That was the last time he saw Elisha or Luciana as they sped away from there asap.

When Roark revived, he was in Riley's arms. "Where am I...?" he mumbled and then was shocked to see him being carried by Riley. "What the hell-?" Riley then spoke "Relax, dude. I couldn't get you to your house. Tell me what happened?" Roark broke don at last, telling him his entre sob story which almost made Riley cry. "I can't believe it! I risked so much for her- my money, my life, my job, my career, my position, my eyes, my friends! How could they have deceived me so badly?" he wailed as he couldn't stop crying. Riley was saddened- seeing Roark depressed made anybody cry; he was such a sweetheart in reality, very few people knew that.

Riley just patiently listened to his anguishing tale. "Why the hell did I slap Gardenia? She was the best girl who understood me and loved me for me- why did I do that to her? Now I've lost my other best friend too! What am I supposed to do now?!" he wailed while Riley was busy thinking of a solution. Then he did something few guys did- he went and embraced him. "Roark, it's okay. Just promise yourself you'll never do something like this again and I'm sure she'll be your friend again. Violence is traumatising, but I'm sure she'll understand. Come on, now- I know where she is. Come with me!"

Riley was never the kind who'll leave him wallowing in a pit of depression and self-pity; it'll screw his life up even more. He was going to rehabilitate him his style as he walked over to the house bravely.

Wishing Roark best of luck, he dropped him off at a house and knocked "Hello, is miss Gardenia there?..."


	9. Atoning for Life

Atoning for Life

Nervous, Roark watched as Riley was hiding behind a bush. "What are you doing?" he asked him. "Nothing much. Just gonna be your shoulder to cry on for emergencies..." "Are you in love with me by any chance?" he teased. "Don't be silly. It's just an expression." Riley retorted until he saw the door open. Gardenia wasn't there; rather somebody else opened the door, much to Roark's surprise and chagrin.

"Yes, Roark?" Volkner asked. Roark was crushed- there was no way Gardenia would ever forgive him. "Is this your house?" he asked surprised. "Nah. Gardenia' place. Am I not allowed to be here?" he spat coldly. "Is she here?" he asked him frightened. "Yeah. Wanna talk to her?" he said. "Forget it. I'm out." Roark said and just walked off beckoning to Riley to leave until he heard a voice scream out "Halt there, sir! What business do you have with me?"

"Courier." Roark lied. "Come on, Roarky; you are a terrible liar. What do you want?!" Gardenia screeched. "Gardenia, I just came here to tell you... I'm sorry." Roark admitted. Gardenia sighed and told Volkner to sit inside which he obeyed quietly while Riley stayed hidden and the two walked off to her garden, which was rather an understatement. It was a whole meadow to be frank!

"Are we going to talk here?" he asked her in awe. "Yup, my garden; how do you like it?" she asked him sweetly, albeit coldly. "It's amazing! It's like a whole flower forest in here!" he exclaimed. "Now what did you want to say again? Will you please forgive me?" Gardenia cleared her throat and said "Look, Roark. I know what you are here for and why. You want forgiveness, right? It's obvious; so glaringly obvious. But I don't know; is this really sincere? I mean you'll probably be heroine-worshipping your wife now..."

"She isn't my wife now." Roark replied bluntly. "Why, divorced the very minute you proposed?" she spat bitterly and sardonically. Roark winced and looked at her angrily. "No. We decided to stay away now, not meant for each other." He replied. "Hmm, I thought love was never for you practical kinds..." she said sarcastically. "Well it is for you guys especially, and who am I to interfere? Especially now that you are dating Volkner..." Roark said coldly while walking away in a huff until Gardenia grasped his arm tight which made him shudder and blush. "Look, we are not dating. Don't get any stupid ideas into your head! What did she say to you anyway?" she interjected. Roark sighed- somebody had to know apart from Riley.

"She rejected." He confessed and then broke into a sob "It was a cruel joke played on me by her sister; Luciana was dating me while she was married!" Gardenia was shocked- could people be so heartless? She knew that Roark was a pushover, but he was also a sweetheart. Who would ever want to treat him this way? Just because he had glasses? Or because he loved them too much to do anything? Gardenia was right all along, Luciana and Elisha were just plastic models alone. And yet Roark saw now wrong in them in spite of all his best friends' warnings.

Then again, who said it was as easy to take advice as giving it?

She was contrite, and said nothing for a few seconds until he spoke "So Gardenia, would you ever forgive me?" Gardenia looked into his eyes; they clearly had a lot of anguish on being betrayed so heartlessly. "Would you still be my best friend, or would you be more?" he mouthed softly. Gardenia was shocked- what was he saying? "What do you mean?" she asked him in amazement. "I speak the truth. I think I like you... like a teenage crush kind of thing... but I'll get over it, I promise!" he blurted out blushing like a tomato. Gardenia knew not what to say, but instead, she just stared into his eyes and spoke acidly "I reject. What do you take me for? Somebody who would be used as a backup, a second option? Do you have any respect for women at all? Or are you just more interested in finding hot lovers for life?" This stunned and broke Roark. He had no idea what he just said. Did he just hit on his best friend? That was uncalled for! He was a man, not a luster! "But Gardenia, you saved me from all of that happened! Heaven knows what I would have..." he spoke only for her to cut him short. "I did not save you, Roark. All I did was just warning you. That was something I had to do, as a job of a best friend. But you slapped me... I cannot forgive that." she answered. Then she cried looking at him "Tell me, Roark. What do you take me for? Is all you think of me as just a backup plan? If Luciana were single and you two were married, would you ever accept me back into your life as your best friend? I cannot believe this; I spent so many years as your friend thinking you needed me, you wanted me, you cared for me... you are just like everybody else!" she screamed and walked away. "I give you ten minutes to get out of my house. I want nothing more to do with you ever again! Oh and in case you were wondering what Volkner is doing in here, just remember- he may not be very expressive; but at least he has feelings!"

Roark was heavily saddened by this; slapping her was the worst thing he ever did in his life and even worse was that he only thought of her as a backup; that made him think for quite a while. He even remembered something back in high school.

"_Hey there, Roark!" that chirpy familiar voice came. "Oh hi, Gardenia." Roark greeted as he went to her side. "I have a really big surprise for you!" she chirped. Roark's eyes widened "Chocolate cake with pink butter cream frosting?" he asked hopefully and excitedly; it was his mother's specialty and Gardenia once promised to make it for him. "Aaww, nah. Sorry Roarky; but I have something even better. I want you to meet somebody." She answered just as gaily. Walking up and twirling round she said "I want you to meet Nando! He's the guy who comes over to Literature class and he's my new boyfriend!" Roark was amazed- how did she find partners despite that sweet as sugar appearance?_

_He looked at him and offered a handshake. "Hello, Nando. I'm Roark." He said as warmly as possible. He smiled "Hello, Roark. It is a pleasure meeting you; Gardenia was telling so much about you. She just couldn't stop talking about you, you know..."_

Roark never understood back then. He was always very protective of Gardenia for some reason, and it wasn't because Camellia was his nurse. As much as Nando often portrayed himself as a nice guy and he was quite sweet, Roark couldn't stand him. He attempted to be polite but he was heavily veiling his contempt for the guy. Why was this so; he was such a good fellow? It couldn't be, could it?

"So, how was it?" Riley asked with open arms. "It failed." He answered. Roark wasted no time in pulling Riley out and leaving. "Why am I such a failure with girls? Am I too perverted or am I just bloodless?" he lamented. Riley smiled. "Roarky, it's nothing like that. You are an angel of a person. Girls are attracted to emotionally and physically strong people. It is an aura of confidence that they radiate." He explained. "You'd obviously know, being a heart throb in school and all." Roark lamented. Riley just smiled sympathetically and put an arm round him. Right now, Roark needed acceptance and that was all he would give. What were best friends for, after all?

While walking Roark spoke "You know, Riley, I often remember... when Gardenia and I were younger, I would often be really possessive of her. Especially when she had that new boyfriend of hers, I never really understood why I couldn't stand him. He was a nice guy, but I don't know- it was just too much for me. I had such an intense contempt for him and I never got why. Even many times while we played together, we often played as a couple while role playing and I liked it, what's more was that I found out that..."

"That?" Riley asked.

"You know, over these days, I found that I find her especially beautiful... It couldn't be... love, could it?" he asked embarrassingly. "I mean, there are many times when I found us uncomfortably close and I was all scarlet." Riley's eyes widened in amazement- Gardenia, his girlfriend? Now that would be amazing! Roark himself was astounded by what he said. "Me, love Gardenia? Impossible! What's happening to me, Riley? Please, help! I don't want to lose the only woman I care about- I don't love her, do I? I shouldn't, I mustn't; I never ever will! Oh Riley, why am I the way I am? I cannot love Gardenia; she deserves so much better!" he cried while walking away faster and faster, hoping to mutilate himself for what he just did. He now figured why he disliked Volkner- even the idea of him as Gardenia's boyfriend was sickening.

Roark regretted everything he just said. He cannot love Gardenia; what would a pretty young grass -freak see in a young coal miner who wore glasses and was addicted to fossils? Nothing, nothing at all! Not now, not ever!

"Roark, wait! I never said you guys can't get together! It's just-?" he was too late. Roark already sped home and Riley sighed. He intended to tell him that the two were perfect for each other. They were young, sweet looking sweethearts who knew each other very well, were on excellent friendship and speaking terms and had something so special in them which would both complement and complete them. It was something special, something unique.

They could never subjugate each other even if their life depended on it. They treated each other as equals, a key ingredient to relationships. That was the secret to their lasting friendship.

Roark on the other hand wasted no time in planning what to do with his life anymore. Wailing in his bed, for the first time in five years, he reflected on everything. Even thinking of Gardenia made him more sorrowful and regretful; what kind of man was he? He probably deserved it anyway. He had lost everything close to him; his father, his girlfriend, his best friend, his lover... what more could be there for him? Writing something in a book, he planned his great escape with him and his pokemon. Once the battle was over, he'd figure out what he was to do. Out and about on his own...


	10. Losing Nerves

Losing Nerves

At long, long last; the day had arrived. This was pretty much the day of every master trainer's dreams and one of great joy and pride; the day they'd be elected for Gym leading. After all the initials, a hopeful hundred were reduced to a mere 16, now a mere eight; they were to have the most epic battle of the century, even more than fighting the league, for this was to shape their careers for all eternity.

Cynthia was busy planning everything nervously, this was the first time she was to create the whole event and inspired by reality shows and she planned to make it fun as possible. It was still going to be held in her house, except this time in her garden. Boy was she grateful she had earned a ton of money for being the champion- it proved such a blessing that day!

All the leaders had arrived in their best attire for being elected for the leading. As far as the rules went, the winner and loser will be allotted the city they'd be 'ruling' based on the following- their tact, calmness, intelligence, maturity, Strength and kindness. Their overall personality was counted along with their Pokémon's strength, so it was perfectly fair.

Every single one had arrived, Riley had come to cheer for Roark and Flint for Volkner. They got to know each other better and wished each other's partners luck too. All of them looked stunning, although for Fantina she dressed like that every day. Soon Cynthia; wearing a long sleeveless gown of blue started belting out on her microphone. "Hello, people! Welcome to the final event of this gym competition! I know you guys are nervous, frankly so am I, but this will be wonderful and fun, so no fear! All of you will be elected for this, so there is nothing to worry about! Just be yourselves and have fun- that's what this whole thing is about!" Crasher wake was already happy, finally somebody on his wavelength. He then wished Maylene and Fantina luck, they'd already become his best friends in the previous events.

This time, even Roark was here. He had come along with Gardenia, but they were no longer on speaking terms; rather they attempted to steer clear from each other and passed. Riley was a bit worried; this certainly wasn't going well.

"Alright, fellas. You ready? Great! Let's begin! Now according to the classic hat trick... our first tow contestants are... Good grief! They are Candice and Volkner!" Cynthia belted! The two blushed in shock- was it now? The whole leadership cheered along with a few friends who had come over to cheer and get to swim in her pool. ''Come on out, guys! Wish you best of luck!" Cynthia screamed while the rest of them were still cheering, Wake the loudest.

"Wow, never saw this coming!" Volkner expressed. "Same here, sir. Now let's battle!" Candice spoke and then sent out her first Pokémon. "Go, Snover! Make your mistress proud!" Volkner heard this and burst out laughing, a very uncharacteristic thing of him. Flint sighed- he knew his best friend's mind too well. Volkner kept laughing till his sides ached. "Do you understand how wrong that sounded? Go Raichu!" he burst out still in hysterics. Wake yelled "Hey, she's still a kid, moron!" Fantina sighed- this was so embarrassing.

Candice blushed even though she never really got it until five minutes later. "Oh, who cares? Come on Snover, use Leer and Razor leaf!" she yelled. Volkner though, thought faster. "Thunder Wave, Raichu!" he spoke. In seconds, the Snover's leer was successful, but she was now successfully paralysed by the surge of thunder. Candice face palmed- items usage was supposed to be a bare minimum. "Snover- use Ice Shard and Razor Leaf combined!" she yelled. "Raichu, dodge!"

This was going on for a bit. Snover's shards though successfully irked Raichu, hurting him quite a bit. Volkner smiled- Candice was a smart girl. "Now Snover- use Razor Leaf!" she commanded. Snover then jumped high into the air and started shooting a barrage of sharp leaves all around until it was tired. Some leaves had pierced Raichu and it worked pretty well, for now he was pretty low. Volkner smiled "Alright, Raichu! Let's do this, boy! Jump high and use Charge Beam!" he yelled with passion and fervour, making Flint cheer "Go Volkner, go Volkner! Come on, bud you can do this even without a girly cheer!" Riley giggled at this- Flint was too much of fun! Raichu then went ahead and used a powerful surge of electricity onto the Christmas tree and it hit spot on- chest region. This made Snover cringe and Candice worried; it was still young after all. "Heya, bud! You okay?" she asked her. "Sno sno!" she said indicating she still wanted to fight. "Oh I am so proud of you!" she said hugging her and then letting her out. "Alright, my dear! Use this." Said she as she gave her a full heal. "Feeling better?" she asked. With an approving nod, she then charged straight in. "Come on, Snover! Use Razor Leaf!" she screamed as the pokemon then went had and used a powerful barrage of leaves into the mouse Pokémon, successfully knocking it out with that critical hit it did. Volkner was shocked- he lost?

"Face it Volker! You'll be suffering this fate once in a blue moon you know!" she said mockingly as Volkner stared in limbo. "Come on, Volkner! You still have another chance! Only two to three Pokémon, as per rule. That's enough for me!" Cynthia called out. The rules applied for all of them two to three Pokémon for each trainer, based on Cynthia's observations. Psychology class was a real boost here.

"Not a problem, dear. Go Luxray!" shouted Volkner as he let out his next Pokémon. It looked rather intimidating and was a bit freaky when Candice chose to stick with Snover, more so because she was hardly going to suffer anything. "Alright, Snover- use Razor Leaf!" she yelled. "Luxray, Thunder Fang!" Volkner spoke. Luxray was quicker this time and in a few second of dashing, sleek movements, he pounced upon the tree and was about to sink its teeth into its veins of sap. Candice was shocked- Volkner gave speed quite a priority. Just when this was going to happen though, she saw a something happen to her Snover. "Snover, you okay?" she asked. A strange white light enveloped the Pokémon and she levitated in the air. In a few minutes, she transformed and landed gracefully on the floor, with her  
looking stronger and scarier than ever. She was now an Abomasnow and had just learned Avalanche. Luxray was blinded by this flash of light and backed away. The whole crowd was shocked- she became an Abomasnow?! Candice was beyond herself with joy.

"Yes! Victory, here we come! Come on, Abomasnow, use Razor Leaf!  
Instead, she did something else. Raising her hands in the air, she closed her eyes and then with a powerful, thunderous roar, let off a flurry of ice and snow, drowning the lion completely and shocking the whole crowd. They all stayed silent until Cynthia belted "Congrats, Candice! Your Abomasnow just learned Avalanche!" Candice was even happier and hugged her Abomasnow who just melted in her embrace. The crowd was really happy while Roark was calmly taking notes and Flint recording this for Volkner. Riley observed this behaviour, it was weird. Then again, this was to be enjoyed.

Luxray was badly hurt, but wanted to do more. Feeling all energised, Volkner smiled; his Luxray really knew the meaning of toughness. "Alright Candice- evolution is handy, but you never know what'll shock the life out of you! Come on, Luxray- use Crunch!" he screamed. The lion then pounced on the tree, but Candice screamed "Don't Abomasnow- use Ice Shard!" but she was too late, Luxray had just sunk his teeth in her Pokémon and it was really intense. Luxray wouldn't let go for five minutes long and finally when he released her, she was really tired and weak. "Good work, Luxray! Now for the finale, use Fire Fang!" Candice gulped; there was no way out of this. Abomasnow was already tired and when Luxray set his heated teeth on her, it was over; all over. Abomasnow fainted and Cynthia screamed "Abomasnow is unable to battle! Luxray and Volkner win! Congrats, Volkner! You are now officially the gym leader of... Sunyshore City!"

The whole crowd cheered- Volkner was jumping in happiness and deoight. "Sunyshore... my hometown, my dream world... an electric haven! Woohoo! Hey Flint, ya hearing everything, right?" he screamed in happiness, almost wanting to act like a jungle man. Flint turned off the recorder. "Every last bit!" he winked. Volkner was furious "You recorded me? You're getting it!" he yelled Flint laughed. "Okay, at least wait for the end!" Then Cynthia called Volkner up to the podium. "Now, you shall be the leader, as per your preferences, name your fave type." She said. "electric, miss." He answered. "So it shall be. Here, take this Beacon badge. You are to pin this on every winner. Design your gym as desired, make traps, pitfalls, obstacles.. Just have fun, Congratulations Volkner, I have to say, I'm proud of you! Now, go ahead and sit on the top bench. Watch the others, get a few laughs... you deserved it, buddy!" she spoke cheerfully and Volkner hugged her while Flint ogled this scene. "Ohh, looks like somebody's in love!" he teased. "Now you are SO getting it!" Volkner yelled as he chased Flint till the top while Cynthia sighed "Boys. So typical."

"Candice, com here! Time to do yours. Alright!" she called out to the dejected girl. Caressing her face, she spoke "You did really well there, dear. Even better, your Pokémon evolved there and seeing your grit and determination made us all proud. You are now leader of Snowpoint City! Congrats! " while giving ehr a warm hug. "name your type choice." "Ice please." Candice replied cheerfully. "Alright then, give all your defeaters the Icicle Badge. No matter which city you are in, you'll do them really proud, so have fun!" she consoled as she gave the badge to her. "Now for our next contestants..."

Roark was praying it wasn't him. If it was he'd die...


	11. Disgraced Grace

Disgraced Grace

Riley was sitting there plaintively observing everything until he heard a woman's voice speak "Hello, sir? Do you know where I can find Gardenia Winchell?" Riley turned around and struggled not to gape. She was such a pretty young lady with long green hair and a wonderful air of modesty, shyness and seemed like a quieter version of Gardenia. "Err, yeah. She might be battling next. Care to join me? I'm here to cheer my friend." He answered blushing. "I'd love to." She said smiling and sat near him. "I'm Cheryl. You?" she asked him. "Riley. Riley Cornwall." Said he and shook her hand. It felt really weird. Was this... nah!

They sat patiently waiting for Cynthia to pick the next contenders. Riley on the other hand, felt every moment to be an eternity with such a pretty girl by his side. This was getting really awkward for him and was tempted to leave, but didn't. Then Cynthia blared out after an eternity"Our next contenders are... Byron and Fantina!" the crowd cheered and Riley smiled too, but when he saw Roark's angst face, his happiness died down. He noticed him getting fidgety and hiding behind Wake, struggling not to make eye contact with his 'fiasco' dad. Wake of course, saw none of this and wished Fantina. "Best of luck, miss." He said. "Merci." She said and then went ahead to fight Byron who was on the other side while Roark was still hiding.

"Hey, good luck!" she called out good-naturedly to Wake who seemingly appreciated it. "My my, miss- you are stunning!" Byron called out to Fantina who blushed. "Merci." She said. "Say, how about you and I at my place, chick?" Byron suggested while winking at her, making her furious while Roark almost puked. His father was such a disgusting character! Fantina was still blushing, but carried on with the battle and sent out her first pokemon "I choose you- go Haunter!" she screamed. Byron smirked- defeating her will be a breeze. "Go Steelix!" he yelled as the huge iron snake came out and looked pretty freaky, making Roark's stomach burn.

Haunter looked excited enough for battle and Fantina smiled- she absolutely enjoyed these kinds. "Steelix, Flash Cannon!" Byron ordered. "Sucker Punch!" she screamed. Haunter was faster and then pouched the life out of Steelix who wasn't really fazed by this still worked. Byron cringed. "Not bad, miss. Now it's my turn. Steelix, Flash Cannon!" he ordered following which Steelix went ahead and then spouted out a flash of blinding light and a hard steel attack which did hurt Haunter quite a bit and made her blink at least twice. Fantina winced- accuracy was so important! "Is that all you have?" he smirked. She smiled. "Ah, but there is more, monsieur. Haunter, Confuse Ray!" "Dodge, Steelix!" yelled Byron.

This didn't exactly work, for Haunter was still dazed by that light and so missed royally, almost confusing poor Flint who blocked it with the help of his pokegear and keeping Volkner away from this stuff. Byron resisted the urge to laugh- her pokemon sucked at accuracy. Roark was getting angrier every minute- his father knew nothing about ethics at all! Fantina was cringing, but then motivated herself "Never surrender. Face every problem you have." Muttering and then she sent out her next move, yet another Confuse Ray, which would work for someone like Steelix, but Byron countered. "Steelix, Sandstorm!" he yelled and then this happened. Fantina could kick herself- he had seriously reduced her accuracy and any hopes of being confused. Yet the unexpected happened. Haunter's Confuse Ray actually worked despite being buffeted by the sandstorm! Byron was shocked- just how? Fantina smiled- her ghosts were clever.

"Alright, mon ami- now I want you to do your next bit! Shadow Claw!" she hollered while Byron watched helplessly. Then he came up with an idea. "Steelix, Flash Cannon!" he yelled. Fantina was not going to give up yet. She was still banking her hopes on the attack, but it was a double bonus for this- Haunter's Shadow Claw did hit with a critical hit and so did the Flash Cannon which successfully weakened the Haunter and almost made it blind for the moment. "Ha ha! Talk about double burn!" he scoffed while Fantina said nothing. She believed in Haunter and said "Alright, my dear- let's do this! One more Shadow Claw, darling!" Byron only laughed louder. "Like anything will actually work here? She is as nearsighted as Roark is!" That was the final straw for him. Roark got up and ran away while only Riley had noticed what was going on. "Hey!" he called out. Roark mouthed something like 'bathroom break' and ran out. Riley wanted to turn and chase him, but Cheryl was blocking the way and he wanted to see more of her beautiful face. Roark was crestfallen at his father's contempt for him. What had he done? He did everything to be the model son only to be spurned by him as he ran to pursue his first love- fossils. This only made Roark quieter and more submissive. He knew nothing about his son; Byron. Roark almost had half a mind to say that his father was dead.

Roark ran to the bathroom, for he was also sick to the stomach and just wanted some alone time. He ran to the loo and slumped onto it, locking the door and weeping. He wanted to slap himself at the moment- he hadn't cried for 2 years and now he was breaking his streak. This was the worst self control he ever had! His weeps turned louder and became real cries of everything he had so far. Even his crying at home was controlled, on fear of being called girly, but now what choice did he have? Roark cried about everything- from his fury at being weak to his break up with Gardenia. He was furious at Luciana for lying to him, Elisha for her perverted trick and himself for being so cruel to Gardenia. Everything he did was a fallacy, a sick lie. Roark was just crestfallen and down. What more did he need to compound his worries? His father was contesting for re-election and flirting with a candidate. Roark had doubts now on why his father left him- for fossils or other love?

"Children can be made anytime, lovers can't." He attempted consoling himself. "Dad can have many kids; he'll never have another love like the same one..."he muttered, but it was all failing. Everything he'd built up was breaking down and shattering. Now he had serious doubts if he even wanted to be gym leader anymore...

"Ha, baby! Your Haunter lost, I won! Still game for a second chance before I take you for dinner?" Byron taunted. Roark just opened the loo and threw up. He felt really sick as that acrid taste started overpowering his tongue and senses as he puked more and more. He was feeling terrible and so heavily disgusted- was that guy seriously his father? He was often used to his flaws, but this was the final straw. This seriously was. Suddenly he heard his phone ring and disgruntled, he picked it up. "What may I do for you?" he asked sarcastically. "Hey, Roark? Where are you?" the voice popped out. "Is this Volkner or Riley?" he asked. "You guys sound the same." "It's Riley, poppet." The answer came. "Where are you? The battle is getting to its best part!"

"Just sick. Came to the loo for some work." Roark answered tartly. "Are you okay, Roark? Your voice is hoarse!" Riley remarked. "It'll definitely be if I get to battle Gardenia- I hate that woman." Roark said coldly, Riley was worried- the last time Roark was this angry, he had to be hospitalised. "Look, Roarky; the match is really intense, if I talk anymore; I'll be kicked out.' He spoke. "Oh, alright. I'm coming, but don't; expect me in too soon!" he said quickly cutting it and throwing up again. After all was over, he left only to see Volkner standing out; surprising him. "What? Never seen a guy before?" he asked. "No..." Roark walked briskly away from there. "Hey you okay?" Volkner asked him concerned. "Not exactly, I felt a bit sick... but thanks for caring!" Roark quickly blurted while dashing off to the battle site. Volkner just shrugged and went back to business.

Fantina was pretty much beating Byron's arrogant butt. "This is nowhere over yet- Bastiodon use Stone Edge!" he yelled. "Mismagius use Magical Leaf!" she yelled. A flurry of coloured levitating leaves rose up from Mismagius' hands and attacked the Bastiodon left right and centre. It was badly injured, but Byron wasn't giving up yet, for he knew something that would freak her out. Soon, sharp pointed stones were falling straight onto Mismagius, injuring her badly and weakening her to a hard extent. This was bad, for now both were critically injured. "Now for the final gambit- Mismagius; Shadow Ball!" she screamed. "Bastiodon, Metal Burst!" he screamed. Mismagius did form the shadow ball, but the very minute she released it; she felt a sharp surge in her body, only to find that metal burst had done its job and Mismagius, unable to take the strain, fainted.

"Mismagius is unable to battle. Byron and Bastiodon win!" Cynthia spoke following which they all clapped and Fantina brought her pokemon back. "You did a fantastic job, my dear. Tres bien! Now go and rest, you deserve it!" she said and then flicked her hair behind. Cynthia then called the two to the podium. Congratulations, you two! Spectacular battle, loved it sir and ma'am! I am so proud to proclaim you as gym leaders! Now, Sir Byron, name your type preference!" Cynthia burst out exuberantly. "Steel all the way, miss!" Byron proclaimed proudly. "So, sir! You are to give out the Mine Badge to all the victors- make your city proud!" Cynthia burst out in a bubbly way and gave him the badge. "Thank you, miss." Said he as he saw Fantina then walk up to the podium. "Madame Fantina, I loved the battle! So elegant, so beautiful! Bien, tres bien! I'm sorry; I know very little French." Cynthia spoke. "That's alright. It is very good." Fantina spoke sweetly as Cynthia handed her the badge. "Name your type preference, sil vous plait."

"Ghost Pokémon, now and forever!" she proclaimed. "Ah, so that means you are to take the Relic Badge!" she said as she handed her the badge. "You both are very amazing and really wonderful! Sir Byron, I proclaim you the leader of Canalave city and Miss Fantina... you are that of Hearthome City!" she exclaimed. The whole crowd cheered, Hearthome needed someone like her. "Oh my tosh- I'm so excited!" Cheryl exclaimed squeezing Riley's hand, making him turn scarlet. Then she noticed what she dd. "I'm sorry." She said blushing. "That's alright." he said in his sweetest voice, for eh still loved the feeling.

"Yes! I always weanted to be gym leader of Hearthome- it is so beautiful!" exclaimed Fantina as she went to the others. "Congrats, Fantina! I'm really happy for you!" Wake said while the others cheered. "You did awesome for a guy who was the gym leader once.." Volkner said smiling. "Merci be coup, all of you!" she said hugging every one of them while Byron smirked. "Good job, miss." He said as she finished her hug session. She smiled at him "Merci."

"Aww, how wonderful! Cynthia exclaimed. "Now for our next contestants. They are..."

Roark was still praying "Not me not me not me! He muttered profusely while praying to Arceus and all the others combined. "Not me, not Gardenia, not me..."


	12. Alarming Intermission

Alarming Intermission

"And so I am proud to say our next two contestants are... Maylene and crasher Wake!" Cynthia yelled proudly. This was probably the most amazing moment for the other leaders who immediately went congratulating the two and Fantina giving them love and blessings. "Amazing!" said Wake. "I'm gonna be fighting you! This is bound to be fun! Good luck, May!" Maylene smiled "You never know who will be beaten!" she said calmly. Wake then played with her hair. "Good point, girl." Said he and then they went to the stage.

This was too much for Roark. He fainted. Gardenia just face palmed and wanted to bang her head on the wall, but was stopped by Volkner. "What's the matter?" he asked coldly. "I'm gonna fight him!" she groaned while pointing a finger at Roark who was still comatose. Riley and Cheryl had a hard time lifting up; it was almost as if he were dead! "Roark, bud, wake up!" Riley screamed while Cheryl got out some strawberry smelling salts which revived him instantly. "What happened? Am I dead?" he asked. "If you were, would I be there?" Riley snapped as he hugged him. "I almost thought you died, you looked so tired!" he yelled while Flint looked at them a little sympathetically and shut Volkner's mouth, who was going to scream something.

Meanwhile, the others were getting ready for battle while Cynthia was discussing with Aaron on how the whole system worked. "I still don't get it!" he moaned. She sighed- "Wait for it later. I'll explain after this battle." Said she. Maylene was already beating the shit out of Wake, much to his embarrassment. "Gyarados, Aqua Tail!" he yelled. "Machoke- Rock Tomb and then Strength!" she yelled. Sadly, Machoke was quicker and then successfully knocked out Gyarados due to type advantage. Wake was cringing; he had just lost his Quagsire to her Meditite and he had one last secret weapon left; Floatzel.

"Man! I really am beating you!" Maylene cheered. Wake was still rather red, but he was manly about it. "I admit, I am having fun, though..." he confessed while sending out Floatzel. "Go, boy!" he yelled while Maylene smiled. "Machoke, use Strength and then Rock Tomb!" she yelled. Wake though, was faster. "Floatzel, Brine and then Ice Fang!" he yelled. Just as Machoke was going to show off his attacks, Floatzel sent a huge wave of salty water upon him, making him rather sluggish and tired, as if out of a tsunami, minus blood though. "Right, Machoke, dodge Ice Fang and use Rock Tomb!" she yelled. Machoke successfully dodged those cold teeth and while Floatzel was pouncing, Machoke used strength and pinned Floatzel down as if hoping to tire him out, but failing steadily and strongly; for Floatzel, tired as he was still had a trick. Wake signalled to him "Floatzel, Ice Fang!" and then Floaztel successfully sunk his frozen teeth into his skin and seemed to be really hard and cold on it, making Machoke yell in pain, even though it didn't hurt much. It was a critical hit.

"Right, now for the next attack, Floatzel, use Aqua Jet!" he ordered, but Maylene was still smart. "Machoke, slam to the floor and use Rock Tomb!" she ordered. Machoke grabbed hold of the weasel and slammed it to the ground in a wrestling pin making Wake impressed; being a pro himself. The others were amazed by this; Flint already popped some popcorn and was chewing it. "What the hell?" Volkner exclaimed. "Want some?" Flint offered giving him the buttery snack. He said nothing and just started chewing on it; this was fun. The others were still watching in awe on how much this girl was pwning the pro wrestler and it was almost scary, as if ion a horror movie. Cheryl herself couldn't handle this and started getting scared. "Oh, I can't handle this! Help me!" she wailed while clutching onto Riley and hugging him like a toy. He turning red, couldn't do anything, but still hugged her back to save him.

"Right, now Machoke- do it!" Wake still was smarter and had a better trick. "Now for our Finale; Floatzel, Brine and Aqua Jet!" he commanded. Maylene was getting tired, but she was still not going to give up. Not yet at least. She watched Machoke hopefully and was wondering when a good time to strike was. Finally, when he did; though, he felt something hard on his spine, only to see that Floatzel had countered the slamming by using a hard brine attack and it successfully hurt and reduced the Machoke's accuracy. Then with a final blow, Aqua Jet which was so powerful that there seemed to be a whole wall of water spraying round in everyone's eyes until it cleared and rainbows were formed. Then to everyone's amazement they saw the Pokémon still standing and to everyone's horror, Machoke fainted. "Machoke is unable to battle. Wake and Floatzel win!" Cynthia yelled followed by the whole cheering party while Cheryl let go of Riley. "Thank you. I'm so relieved." Said she making Riley blush even harder. Was this really early?

She called the two to the podium. "Amazing strategy, Wake!" she praised him. "Just having fun, miss." He said calmly and then bursting into jumps of happiness, much to the others' amusement. "State your type choice." Said Cynthia. "Once a water baby, always a water baby." Wake said. "Ah, I see. So you are to hand over the fen badge to all those you are defeated by. Create your gyms and have fun with everything- that was a wonderful fight!" Cynthia praised as she gave him the badge. "Cool; this is pretty!" he remarked. Then Cynthia went over to Maylene. "That was stupendous, wonderful fight I am thoroughly impressed by how well you were defeating him in the first try. The world needs leads like you, Miss Maylene. Now name your type preference sweetie. "She praised while patting her head sweetly. "I am a fighter- I'm not going to give up so easily! Fighting Pokémon show off that spirit!" she proudly proclaimed. "Ah, so the Cobble Badge is the one for you. Congratulations, dear!" Cynthia proclaimed giving her the badge. "Now for the results; Wake you are hereby gym leader of Pastoria City and Maylene, you are of Veilstone City! Congratulations you two!" she cheered while others followed suit and then they all went ahead to congratulate the others while Roark went and talked to her too.

"Congrats, miss." Said he quickly the minute he saw Gardenia and went away to Riley to give his Pokémon a last pep talk.

"Ah, now for our finalists... hmm as luck may have it, two polar types against each other... it is Roark and Gardenia!"


	13. Yet Another Straw

Yet Another Straw

Of course, by now, you know what would have happened. Like all humans, Roark was clinging to that string of hope that something would happen despite everything saying against it. And of course he most incredulously failed and now he had to fight a girl he regrettably is in love with. Of course, Gardenia felt the same. Fighting an enemy you regret is just as bad and dangerous a feeling and she already and her fair share of bad relationships. This was the last thing that should set her off.

Then again, both wanted to be gym leaders and they hadn't a clue which cities they were going to be posted to. So it was all fair.

"I choose you! Go Geodude!" Roark called out his rock Pokémon. "Think this is too easy... Go Turtwig!" she exclaimed as the baby turtle, rather tortoise came out. Roark snickered in fear- he was so going to die.

"This is too easy- Turtwig! Razor Leaf!" she screamed. "Dodge, Geodude and Rock Throw!" Roark retaliated. Gardenia winced- in seconds the razor leaf attack missed Geodude and the rock throw landed head first. Roark was pleased- this was a real brightener. Of course, Gardenuia had another trick. "You guys lack speed- Turtwig, Reflect and then Grass Knot!" Roark face palmed- this was a sure shot goner. "Geodude, Rock Throw again!  
He yelled. Geodude attempted dodging the large flurry of knots, but failed as he tripped immediately falling flat on his face and looking like a moron.

"Ha ha! You clearly lost on that one, you know!" Gardenia taunted. Cheryl was still cheering. "Go Gradenia! You rule!" Riley sighed and said nothing until he saw Roark and spoke "I believe in you, bud!" which gave him confidence- as it is he was so shaken. Then he had an idea. Grass knot was useless per se as Geodude was rather light, only about 500 grams. Then another plan came up to him. Reflect would only heighten the damage, so he had an idea. "Geodude; levitate and use Rock Throw!" he ordered. Gardenia was confused but still ordered her pokemon to use razor leaf. Geodude went high into the air by hurling itself and then from a high point, used Rock Throw with a heightened accuracy. This kind of aerial vision helped him see the weak points and the increased potential energy would heighten the damage.

Besides, it was a normal effective hit.

This was a good hit and Gardenia was angry. Geodude though, was to pay for all those leaves hit him in seconds and well, unable to take the strain, fainted. Roark was stunned- why was his Pokémon so vulnerable to grass attacks? He would have wallowed, but did nothing at this moment. Then his smile turned crooked. "Not over yet, love. Go Onix!" he yelled as the huge rock snake came out. Gardenia was mildly intimidated by this; it was a huge snake. Still, mustering her courage, she then went and said "Turtwig, Grass Knot!" Roark was quicker "Onix, dodge, use Screech and use Rock Throw!" he yelled. Onix strangely enough was quicker and then after hitting the turtle successfully, Turtwig looked too tired to do anything until Gardenia spoke "Turtwig, Sunny Day!" Roark had to come up with a quick plan. "Alright, Onix- Steath Rock while you're at it!" he commanded. Gardenia had no idea what he was doing; she never saw this move like ever!

"Since when did pointed rock scare me, Roarky?" she taunted making him cringe in anger. "Now, Turtwig; Grass Knot!" she yelled. Roark was gulping until he remembered; screech really pushed the defence low. "Alright Onix; a last resort move; one last Rock Throw!" Onix was faster though and when the rocks hit the turtle, it immediately fainted much to Roark's delight and Gardenia's horror. The crowd was stunned- what the hell just happened? Roark hugged Onix "Good job, Onix!" while the Pokémon nuzzled it back and Flint himself let out a few tears.

"Are you crying, Flint?" Volkner asked surprised. Flint winced. "Nah Volky! Get an eyeglass prescription!" he spoke. Cynthia sighed- boys will be boys. Then it came to the next round where Roark used a potion sneakily and then letting him go, all rested. "Sunny Day isn't over yet! Come on out, Cherrim!" she yelled as Roark saw the strange pokemon who covered itself with that purple bellflower. He knew Gardenia kept grass pokemon of all kinds, but this one was plain creepy. He shuddered seeing it but suddenly when the first ray of sun hit it, its petals opened out and it transformed from a wallflower, literally to a big blossoming pink flower. "Okay." He deduced "That is still creepy." Gardenia smirked- "Either way it isn't over. Cherrim, magical leaf!" she commanded. Roark shivered- magical leaf was extremely critical and could easily take the Mickey out of Onix, but the minute he saw the cherry flower cringe in pain, he smiled; stealth rock did its trick.

"Wow! Roark is good!" Riley deduced while seeing Cheryl mildly disturbed. "Wow, Riley; I never knew Roark was so strong! What would he have done if he had flying type pokemon?" she pondered. "Roark and flying types?" Riley scoffed "He'd rather be a Metapod's lunch!" Riley laughed- he knew how much Roark disliked flying types; he found them plain weird. Although he was impressed with Roark's strategy; he clearly was being tough and not giving any concessions at all. Clever lad he was.

"Honestly Gardenia, do you not know the power of rocks, love?" Roark scoffed while raising his hands in the air "Well, you sure saw the wrong thing. Onix- Rock throw followed by another stealth rock!"Gardenia was no fool. "Cherrim, Grass Knot!" she yelled. This time, Onix had no choice. Stealth rock did work, but not without its prices. It hurt Cherrim with every movement she made, but it still wasn't enough as much as confusion or poisoning. Then he was just about to execute his next move when Cherrim set out the huge trap of knots onto the huge snake and he toppled down in an instant, making him roar, much to Roark's dismay. Now he had such a little chance, especially with a double incentive for this loss.

Of course, Gardenia was still smug about the whole thing until she saw Onix use his last ounce of strength to rise up and both Reflect and Sunny Day faded. Gardenia gulped- she would just be in hot water right now if she didn't execute the right moves and was still furious with Roark for the way he mistreated her as if she were a placebo and not a real person. Then she set off with her final moves. "Cherrim, another Grass Knot!" she yelled.

"Onix, one last attack of Rock Throw!" Roark yelled sweating for now he knew that Onix was totally sunk and his secret weapon was more or less a last resort. Onix used a final ounce of strength and sent a last hurl of tumbling rocks onto the flower that was already weakened by the stealth rocks and lack of barriers, while Cherrim used another bounty of green knots and tripped the Pokémon down, following which both were attacked and fainted. The crowd was amazed- this was a tie!

Cynthia was amazed herself- both the gym leaders were extremely capable and they successfully defeated both the Pokémon, but there were two cities left and she had no clue; what to use now? Both looked intelligent and were capable, but personality was the last thing she wanted to see; that was not prevalent in this event for both were so sardonic and cold. Aaron saw her perplexed face. "Is something wrong, Cyndi?" he asked. "I am in between the devil and the deep sea." She confessed.

Then suddenly Roark had a crooked smile on his face while Riley and Cheryl were still clinging onto each other as they waited for the results with bated breath. "I am so not done yet! Not giving up now; certainly not. I am to present my last Pokémon out to the world; go Cranidos!" he hollered as he let out the rock dinosaur to battle. Gardenia herself was impressed y this and she had a final score to settle. Besides, why would she give up to somebody like him? She knew there was something in there that could make this battle the adventure of a lifetime and she wasn't going to give it up now; especially when her keen eye saw it being recorded by yours truly, Volkner. And besides, she knew somewhere that this would definitely be the greatest moment of her life and she was anything but tired. "Do you think you're the only one? Well, so am I bestowed with one!" she said and then twirling in teh air, she threw her pokeball high up and screamed "It's time, my dear! Go Roselia!" Roark almost fainted. Roselia was her strongest Pokémon and even otherwise, they were blessed with amazing move sets, and she knew a whole lot of attacks, poison included.

"Wow. You got me, girl. But not for long. Cranidos, Leer and head butt!" he ordered. Gardenia was still quick. "Roselia, magical leaf!" she ordered. While Cranidos was attacking, though- he saw something in Roselia's eyes and as if by default, he wanted to say something to her which was translated-: "what am I doing? Roselia; is that you?!" Roselia still attacked him, but missed. "Why should I ever be with you? Your master attacked my mistress and cared not for her!" she hissed. Cranidos felt really bad. "My master is not a bad man! I've lived with him ever since I was born; he is like a father to me!" he argued while head butting into her, making her flinch. Roark smiled. "Good boy! Now, head butt again!" Gardenia wasn't going to give up yet, though. "Roselia; magical leaf again and this time, pinpoint accuracy!" she ordered. Roark gulped. "Dodge and hurry!" he ordered. Sadly, magical leaf wasn't as avoidable as razor leaf because they were concentrated on one area, whereas razor leaf was a flurry of leaves just floating round the surface.

Cranidos was hit hard by this as much as he wanted to talk to Roselia, but failed. "Come on!" he yelled. "I know that master was bad to her, but he truly regrets what he's done! Would he ever come over to apologise if he didn't?!" Roselia seemed unfazed. "Why do I find that incredibly hard to believe?" she sneered as she then prepared for yet another attack. Cranidos rose up and said "If it really was, would you ever find him crying?" he argued. "You are just trying to protect your master; your argument is invalid!" she scoffed as then she executed another attack of magical leaf as per Gardenia's instructions. "Cranidos, my boy- Pursuit and then head butt!" he ordered following which the magical leaves did scrape the dinosaur, but not without being attacked mercilessly by the Cranidos, albeit with heavy heart.

"Please! You have to believe me! My master would never do such a thing and not regret it!" Cranidos insisted. "Well, I'm sorry; but this is not something I can take for granted. Now face my wrath!" she screamed. "Alright Roselia; he looks weak enough. Now, time to use the final attacks- grass knot!" she ordered. Roark though saw more in it. "Right Cranidos, leer and a hard head butt!" he ordered. Cranidos did so, making Roselia almost at critical level. Roark smiled- this was going to e so easy.

Gardenia may be naive but she was no fool. "Rest up, dear!" as she fed her a potion and made her better again. Roark face palmed and tore his hair in frustration. His life sucked to the core. "Oh my; your friend is really angry!" Cheryl remarked. "That's him." Riley said as he was still scarlet thinking of how long he hugged her. Then of course, he cheered for Roark mentally.

"Why Roarky? Meowth got your tongue?" she taunted making him scream. "What un manly behaviour! No wonder girls disliked you. Come on, Roselia! Now use Poison Sting!" Roark gulped, partying that none hit Cranidos. It was fairly effective a hit though, and voila- he was poisoned. Roark would have died there itself, but he still thought of a new plan. "It's okay, buddy. I'd rather lose the title than you; but will you still finish the match?" he consoled. Cranidos nodded, but was still roaring in pain, making Cheryl cry. "It's okay, dear. Have a hanky." Riley offered. "  
Thank you Riley." Cheryl smiled making him red all over. Then Cranidos rose up high and waited for Roark's orders. "Now, Cranidos, if you see clearly, the rocks have done their jobs. So now for the last gambit, you use Head butt and Pursuit!" he commanded. The poison was doing its work, so Gardenia said "Roselia; magical leaf!" This was it now; they both used their final ounces of strength into this. "Well, goodbye sir." Roselia scoffed. Cranidos cringed; girls were hard. "I don't care what you think, I'm not letting you get anywhere near my father!" Cranidos yelled as they used their last attacks. An explosion filled the air which almost made Flint's heart burst; for it was so loud, it could have been a sonic boom!

Finally, the smoke doused down and to everyone's shock and dread, Cranidos was on the floor while Roselia, tired and bruised; stood standing. The crowd slowly stood up and gave her a standing ovation; that by far was the most explosive battle ever! Volkner's camera ran out of battery, but he saved it just in time while all the others just clapped endlessly for hours, Cynthia herself partaking in the acts. They all just clapped and clapped, too consumed by amazement to do anything else.

Roark himself started clapping slowly, which Gardenia noticed and he didn't just doing it with reckless abandon. Who cared about what happened now? Nothing was gained or lost as it is? Cheering for his now distant friend felt like heaven for her; she deserved it. Then he flung something at her and moved away lest anyone saw. Soon, everybody stopped and Cynthia ran to the podium and called the two up there.

"That was brilliant! I have never in my entire life seen something so dynamic, so extraordinary! You two have clearly set the standard for every leader and are the epitome of personality, guts and spirit! Now Gardenia, for that amazing performance and that astounding graphic; I want you to name your choice of type." Cynthia praised while hugging her hard.

"Grass! I worship grass, plants and nature, now and forever more! Until eternity dies and the world loses its charm!" Gardenia spoke fervently and solemnly. "So be it. You shall award the forest badge to your victors and be the gym leader of a beautiful city that I promise!" Cynthia said as she pinned it onto her poncho. "Congrats, victor!" the crowd cheered and most of them were in tears to see such a wonderful victory.

"Hurrah! The girl won at last!" Maylene and Candice exclaimed high fiving each other while the other leaders were as pleased as punch. "Yes! She won! You are my lucky charm! I love you!" Cheryl exclaimed while suddenly kissing Riley long and hard. When he was released from that, he took a few breaths and then started jumping up and down screaming in joy while Roark smiled; this really was his bestie's true love. Then Riley fainted, making Roark and Cheryl giggle. Then Roark walked up to the podium and saw Cynthia's face shine with delight. "You were stupendous over there, Roark! Thank you so much for putting up such a wonderful, heart-warming and movie deserving fight! I am so proud to say that you will be the future Gym leader! Make your city proud! Now name your type preference." Cynthia exclaimed hugging him, making him blush. "Rock, all the way." He answered. "Ah, so it is. You shall award the coal badge to all your victors. Make your gym, make the traps, have fun and be a shining example to all your fellow trainers' world over! I must thank your opponent for putting up such an extraordinary fight!" Then she called out "May I ask Gardenia Winchell to come up on stage?"

She came up there and said "And so it shall be; you are the gum leader of Eterna City! Congratulations and putting up such a good job! You deserve every last bit of it!" she exclaimed. The whole crowd cheered and clapped and many of them were praising her endlessly. Some even went to the far extent of crowd surfing her, much to her pleasure.

Of course, Cynthia was announcing Roark's title too. "As for Roark, he shall be the gym leader of Oreburgh City! How blessing! This has worked for everybody; congratulations Roark! You are now a gym leader too! Crowd clapped and cheered for him of course, which made him blush. He wasn't that good too, you know, at least that was his thoughts.

The crowd was still surfing Gardenia though and he saw that, Steeping away, he checked the time and gasped, then slowly and sneakily, made a hasty exit to the destination of his desire. Either way, it was going to be far, far away, out and about on his own...


	14. Altercation Divine

Altercation Divine

Roark thought he was unnoticed, but little did he know what was really going on. The minute he departed from Cynthia's house, Riley had seen his departure and followed his movements closely, and coming to think about it, so did Gardenia.

"_Hey, Roark; is this good enough for the prom?" Gardenia asked her bespectacled friend, rather companion._

_Roark analysed the dress baselessly and calmly. It was a rather pretty dress; long and reaching her ankles, chrome green and had tons of sparkles with a sweetheart neckline, surprisingly deep._

"_Will this make Nando crazy over me?" she asked hopefully._

"_He already is your boyfriend, sweetheart. What's there in it? Besides, you are going with him!" Roark said calmly. "You?" she asked. "Forever alone, love." He answered making Gardenia a bit wistful. "Then why are you going?" she asked her suited friend. "Well, it'll still be worth it, won't it? I can get to see the others have a blast." Roark answered making her a little uncomfortable. "But is this dress right? Am I pretty enough?" she asked while twirling like a young bride in her wedding attire. Roark smiled- Gardenia was always pretty; this dress was perfect! Except it had a little problem..._

"_Your dress is amazing, Gardenia! You look pretty in anything! But if you really want something, I have it right here." He said sweetly as he pulled out a jade necklace intertwined with a few green shards and walked towards her. She was confused- what was he doing? Then he went ahead, with his mouth near her ear and applied the necklace onto her neck. Analysing it for seconds, he then spoke "There you go; all perfect!" _

Remembering this often stirred her soul. She blushed a lot that day, his voice was angelic and so was his shyness and modesty; so serene, so pure. Of course, she dismissed those feelings because she loved Nando, but now she was open; and Roark was leaving. All because of her. She was not sure if she really was the cause, but all the same, she was going to do something even Nando had no grace of. Gardenia was giving Roark another chance.

Gardenia now realised that she really loved him, no matter what. He truly was someone who could care for her forever even if his life were at stake. She kept running after the redhead, but was failing steadily as he was faster, taking as much as his legs could carry, away from there, never to be seen again. He was out of there, either way. His work was done; he fought a valuable, wonderful fight and may have lost, but he finished it and did his best. He was a total jerk to Gardenia, but what was there in it now? She'd found somebody her type at last, so what was there to regret? Gardenia was worth everything and he definitely didn't deserve her, no not in the least. As much as Roark loved her, or realised he did, he was done with this world.

He had no qualms in renouncing his gym title and even less in anything else for that matter. All he wanted was freedom and final salvation, which of course he would find his way. Running for his life; he went ahead and jumped onto the first Rapidash he could see and rode for his life. Gardenia was still at it, but lagging behind. She was steadily losing strength until she bumped into Byron. "Oh, sorry sir!" she apologised before running off. "What makes you in such a hurry?" he asked her. "I am looking for my love!" she said. Then seeing a retreating figure, he said "You may want to borrow this..." saying which he released his Bastiodon out to her "I trained him to ride. Go get him, girl!" he said as he told something to him. "Thanks so much!" she exclaimed kissing his cheek, making him a bit confused- who was she after?

Gardenia was tearing after Roark on Bastiodon, running faster than life itself and then following Roark who clearly had no desire to have this done. Then again, what was he to lose? He wanted nobody after him. Gardenia was still persistent and went after him, until she saw him get off the Rapidash and speak into his phone. "I'll be there, but whatever you do, keep me free!" Gardenia was still confused, but then got off Bastiodon and ran off behind him. Roark knew he was being followed, so he took a detour. Then lifting his bags up, he slung it over his shoulder and ran off until he found his real destination- the train he was to take. Long, fast and sleek; this was his answer; running away, renouncing everything; rather doing the same thing his father did- abandon. He grabbed onto the handle of the train while cursing "Shit, I'm late!" while holding onto it for dear life with a now revived Cranidos in the backpack on his back. "Hold on tight, dear. It'll be hard otherwise." he warned while they were ready to face a totally new journey, far from prying eyes and cold hearts; a world of their own. Roark had grabbed on and found a place to sit, but it was occupied the very next minute, following which he just shrugged and grabbed another handle, this time out of the train and clinging onto it for dear life.

He braced himself as the train slowly started to move and he let his Cranidos nuzzle him. "It's okay, sweets. It's okay." While feeling the wind slowly blow into his hair until he heard someone scream his name. "Hey Roark! Where on earth are you going?!" Roark turned round, but it was slowly picking up speed. "Must be Cynthia. I'll thank her later." He deduced. After all Cynthia was being heavily applauded for the picking of such efficient leaders and was probably going to be champion forever if the public could choose. Then he heard that voice again. "Roark!" he turned round in shock and horror. It was Gardenia!

"What now? You won, what more?" he shouted while waiting for the tunnel to come there. "Roark, please! Come on out! Where are you going?" she asked him. "I don't know and I don't care!" he answered. "But you have to tell me!" she insisted. "Forget it, the train's leaving. I wish you best wishes for your life and a great life with Volkner. Now I must be leaving Goodbye." Roark answered before splashing a tear and watching the train slowly move away faster and faster till no return. Gardenia was distraught, there had to be a time and place when she could get him. "Why are you going?! You can't possibly go anywhere!" she screamed. "At least not without me!"

This sentence made Gardenia blush like a tomato. This was never something she expected to say; but now where was the turning back? She just confessed the fact of facts, she loved Roark and nothing in the world could stop her. Roark himself turned scarlet; was this what she really felt all this time? Was she always critical of Luciana because she loved him? He suddenly felt a surge straight in his heart. It was that of love and affection, but what could he do? There was no stopping of the train!

"Goodbye, Gardenia! I'll miss you!" he confessed as he slowly started to cry. Gardenia was distraught and could do nothing but flop down. "Please Roark!" she cried. "Don't go, don't go!" she wailed before breaking down into tears. Roark was feeling terrible; he hated seeing girls cry and he broke her heart yet again. But what could he do about it? There was nothing and leaving her would only compound the situation, but he had no worries as such. His heart was filled with regret, but he hoped to make it up to her. "I love you Gardenia!" he blurted out unthinkingly, yet scarlet and blew a flying kiss to her. Gardenia seemed to feel it, for her face was now red and seemed to get hold of it. Yet her face was flustered with tears and she could do nothing, except cry that her true love was gone, and so could he do the same.

Gardenia did nothing but weep as her Roselia came out. "Ro ro?" she asked her. Gardenia saw her and stroked her face. "It's okay, dear. I'll be fine... but I hope he will too." Said she before breaking into tears again. Then Roselia hugged Gardenia. "Thank you, dear. I love you too!" Gardenia said embracing her closest friend. Then Roselia suddenly grabbed hold of the thing Roark last gave her and held it. It was pretty beautiful and shimmering, but suddenly Roselia felt something all around her. It seemed like a magic aura, something so beautiful. Then in a few minutes, she landed to the floor as something, rather someone totally different. She was now a Roserade.

Gardenia was amazed. "Oh, Roselia! You've evolved!" she exclaimed as she hugged her passionately. Then while hugging, she whispered. "I thank Arceus for all of this blessing that was bestowed upon me... By Roark!" she realised what happened at last. Now there was no way he'd ever escape her! Feeling a surge of power by this epiphany, she then looked at her Roserade and said "Wanna play?" Roserade immediately understood and said "  
Ro rose!" and then showing off a full trail of leaves, indicated to Gardenia to run. Gardenia figured it and started to run, faster than the wind itself.

Gardenia and Roserade ran hand in hand, as quickly as they could. Nothing in the world could stop them from reaching their loves; rather Gardenia's love an even nature couldn't stop this sudden burst of passion itself. She kept running even while her feet ached, over hill and dale, (trainers have done that before) and all over to see Roark again. At times, she tripped, but Roserade would lend in some of her grass magic to her. Suddenly, she came across a grassy field and meadow, where she saw the train fly past and Roark standing over there. He was shocked to see her; were his eyes really that bad? He saw this in amazement; it really was her! Roark was astounded out of belief, but he had no idea what to say.

"Gardenia?! The heck?!" he exclaimed while seeing her run. "How did you get here? The train just went over 22 kilometres!" Gardenia smiled while seeing Roark. "I know that I can never match up with this, or the girl of your dreams; but I know that no matter what happens, you are always mine, now and forever!" she confessed. "I love you, darn it! I do!" she confessed clearly and throatily. Roark almost cried. "But how can you, Gardy? You love Volkner and he is everything I'm not! He's your equal and I'm-?" Roark was cut short when Gardenia suddenly just pulled him off that speeding machine and he injured his kneecaps. The train sped off apathetically, leaving the twosome to the buttercup and paddy fields. Gardenia helped the dazed Roark up who was still amazed by Gardenia's strength. He looked at her, eyes filled with love and admiration for the bespectacled young miner, who was the handsomest guy on earth.

Pulling his jacket towards her, she clung to him until they were just millimetres apart. Gardenia blushed doing this, while Roark was just as scarlet and smiling like an idiot until Gardenia spoke up "Roark, you were always my equal since adolescence! Volkner has nothing you do, that I know!" she said. Roark was stunned by what she said and it only increased when she planted her lips onto his and closed her eyes, feeling that soft tender touch. Roark finally felt no regret and closed his eyes too, holding her in embrace and continuing with that locking of lips for long, romantic and true; his first kiss of his life and Gardenia's first one of true love. After it was all over, she let go of him and moved away. Blushing still, she said "I don't know... did you like it?" Roark just smiled and caressed her face. "Would I ever say no to a beauty like you?" he joked and then hugged her romantically.

"Either way, that was the best moment of my life, so no regrets. None at all." Roark confessed. "All the same, what do we do now? In the middle of some random meadow?" he asked confused. Gardenia punched him. "Moron! Couldn't you at least tell me you were running away?" she screamed. "I ran away because I lost you, Gardenia!" he admitted, making her blush. Then she pulled him in again. "Still feel the same way?" she asked him seductively. He looked round for a few seconds. "Nah. Not anymore." He said before being kissed again.

A few days later, Cynthia was in Canalave City where she was being interviewed by the press. "As new champion, you have gone ahead and done the most efficient job ever! How do you feel about your selections?" they asked her. "I think it's the best decision I'd ever done!" she confessed. Then she went ahead and cleared her throat for a speech.

While all leaders in all formals were listening, Cynthia took a deep breath and began...


	15. Long Lasting Life

Long Lasting Life

"When I became new Champion, I was nervous. This was the first time I was to be permanent champion and I had worked really hard to do this, especially training my Pokémon and raising them with lots of love. It's just like being a mother to so many children and nurturing them for life. I was excited of course, I was the champion; it is the greatest honour a trainer could hold in the world!"

"But when I figured out I was to be ruler of this whole country and to pick the new gym leaders for the next ten years or so, I was scared. Rather, I was terrified; this was a huge responsibility. It could make or break a country, their subjects and people; or even the dreams of young upstart trainers who want to carve their own name in such a world. This was a life-changing, heart-rending decision. Fortunately, I knew very few people, so partiality wasn't a problem. I was also worried about how they would handle it; it was such a hard job. Especially so because I held these dramatic elections; it was so unnerving initially. But when I got to know all these lovely people and everything they had in store, I knew. I was putting my country in safe hands, secure strong hands that would bring out a whole new insight into this world and be the model example all Pokémon trainers wanted. I knew I had to go with my instincts, my natural flow; all those invaluable lessons in psychology and morality, education! You just cannot live without it..."

"I realised so much when I started doing these elections. I gained so much more confidence, inspiration and the feeling that working for the benefit of my country and all the Pokémon of the world is the greatest joy of them all and nothing in this world could replace it. It was a labour of love I was; performing, not just for them, but myself. I now truly understood the meaning of deontology; why it was needed. Not just to uphold the rights of morality, but the reason that being right and moral in your own sense, it brings a strange self –satisfaction in you; you did the right thing and nothing else can ever give you the euphoric feeling as much as clearing of guilt and being proud of all your actions so far... I have no possible words left!" Cynthia then said in between tears "I realised that I truly loved everything I do; I love people, I love Pokémon, I love everything! I will always be there for my country, now and forever! And that is a promise I will never ever break, as long as the great god Arceus bestows life upon me! And that is a fact!"

"Funny thing, faith; It really makes you feel on top of the world."

The whole city, rather whole country stood up and gave her a standing ovation. Cynthia was the most honest person in the whole world and they needed a champion like her. All the leaders cheered and applauded Cynthia, while Flint presented her the official champion trophy to keep until the best winner arrived. "I love you all!" she exclaimed before going away. The rest of the public came after her while the other leaders were in tears them, Roark too.

"I swear, are you crying?" Gardenia interjected. "Do I look like I'm crying love?" he lied. "I think so..." Gardenia replied mischievously while playing red hands with him and then secretly grasping his hands. "What better way could be there to be gym leaders of the world; loving and all?" Gardenia crooned. "Nothing I can think of." He replied while grasping her hand and then their heads bent towards each other. One guy did see this though, and who else was it but Byron himself who was smiling away on seeing the two lovers get all mushy. Then he glanced at Gardenia and passed her a look saying "Thank you, dear." Gardenia smiled back. "You're welcome." She whispered and then went ahead with her new boyfriend.

Eterna Forest was never ever this sunny, but the two felt like on top of the world playing with each other and having a few mock battles for strength's sake. Then they just flopped down like they did many times before and just stared at the sky. "We really shouldn't be doing this, you know." Roark commented. "Why not?" Gardenia asked. "If we keep staring at the sun, we'll get blind." He answered and then Gardenia just sighed. Then she plays her hands on his hair, and slowly removed his mining helmet, the getting quicker. "What the heck?" Roark interjected. "Give me back my helmet!" he yelled. "Not if you catch me!" she teased and made him chase her round for a really long time until he got tired and then flopping down; said "I give up. You win." Gardenia then pulled his hair and began ruffling it. "So there really is no bald spot... you look cute with this, you know! Don't ever change yourself; your glasses really turn me on!" she said sweetly and then started to noogie him. "You are sooo screwed!" he said and then noogied her too until both fell onto the grass laughing and watching Cranidos and Roserade get cosy too.

"Thanks a lot for doing this to master!" Cranidos said. "Oh well, it was the least I could do." Roserade sneered and then looked into his eyes. "You know, mistress really was right; you really are cute." She spoke. "Really?" he asked her hopefully. "Would I ever lie to you about that?" she asked him playfully and then cuddled up near him, making him scarlet all over. Roark smiled "Maybe when he's a little older, he just might be her perfect guy." He stated. "A bit like how I found you now?" Gardenia joked and then pulled Roark towards her. "Yeah, you could say that." He said pecking her cheek. 'You still lack the guts, don't you?" she teased and then kissed him lovingly while ruffling his hair, it was so thick and beautiful.

Then they just sat backs touching each other and started dreaming about life in general. "Really, Roarky; there is so much to think about and be amazed by." She expressed. "Come again, love?" Roark asked. She blushed- "I mean, look at it... One minute you were a gym leader of a wonderful city and then you were abdicating the very next." She confessed. Roark was cringing a bit "Don't make me feel guilty about this, you know." He scoffed. "Really? How do you think I felt?" Gardenia argued while ruffling his hair yet again to irritate him. "You really don't stop irritating me ever, do you?" he teased when she let him go. "Well, of course I won't!" she teased making him sigh in frustration yet couldn't help but giggle; his girlfriend was such an angel and he wouldn't want her any other way. "Especially because we are lovers, irritation should be mandatory, don't you think... So say goodbye to this helmet!" she screamed and then attempted flinging in the lake, only to be caught by Roark. "Not so fast, sucker!" he scoffed and then chased her round and then beckoned for the Pokémon to join too. After an hour's chasing, they toppled onto the grass yet again, now really bushed until Gardenia suddenly put her head onto Roark's shoulder from behind. "You know, I love the idea of us dating; I'd been dreaming about this since high school!" she confessed. Roark turned scarlet "What? Seriously?" he blurted. "Yeah, it's true. I never thought too much, but it was far too overpowering, you know." She confessed, making Roark blush and then burst into a tinkling laugh. "Guess I really am that handsome then!" he said giggling a little bit and then playing with her hair. Soon the sun was setting and they were staring at it like many times before.

"You know, when we were still contestants, I dreaded the day that we would never get to be together." Gardenia admitted. "Yeah, I know. I thought we'd be too caught up with our own work." He admitted. Then Gardenia leaned in more and said "Well, it only strengthened being gym leader. And thanks so much for giving me the shiny stone; I never expected that, really!" "Oh please, Gardenia! It's only fair, owing to the fact that I finally got to be and discover myself being with you, don't you think? It does sound condescending but you know what I mean, right?" he replied crimson while leaning into her. She blushed in amazement "Really? You thought so?" she asked wide eyed. "Well, yeah. Else would I change in front of you like that day?" Roark laughed, followed by her punching his arm hard.

"Ow!" he moaned. "Serves you right, sucker!" Gardenia laughed then noogieing him and then suddenly pulling him to her. "All the same, it's this stuff that makes you cute, right?" she spoke and then kissed him really hard and long, while he joined in and hugged her back. It was longer than usual, for even though they'd been together for a few days, they felt like they knew each other for eons. Actually, they did, but that's a different matter. Soon the sun had set after hours and then some flower petals blew into their faces. "Reminds you of those movie scenes, right?" Roark asked. "All the privacy in the world..." Gardenia then playfully hit him. "Don't ruin the moment." She scolded as their Pokémon fell asleep. Then she said "But you know, isn't it because of the fact we are equals it makes the relationship even more exciting than it already is?" she said making him smile.

"Although it's true, it is really private..." she said hugging him romantically until she heard someone say. "Awww! Look at my boy! So grown up now!" Roark froze- someone saw them! Then he turned round to see his father there, in shock. "Dad! Hi!" he said. Then Byron smiled "I never expected this for so long! Aren't you a man now?" he said sweetly and then smiled "Congratulations, Roark! I'm so proud of you!" and hugged his son, who now cried. "Oh, son! You have no idea how I really felt! You never did!" he said, himself crying. "I can't believe... I love you dad!" Roark confessed as his father hugged him harder. "Son, no matter how much fossils are my first love, nothing in this whole world could ever tarnish the joy I had seeing my first born transcend from a boy to a man... nothing at all will ever. I love you, son. I really do."

Gardenia just smile herself, almost crying until Roark saw her. "Baby! I swear I saw you crying!" he insisted. "No I was not!" she insisted and then kissed Roark's forehead. Then he put her head on his shoulder as Byron kept smiling. "Getting clumsier, are you?" he joked, making Roark blush. "Come on to my house! Been a long time since we've been this close, have we? Nit such a bad idea bringing your girlfriend exploring now, will it?"

Roark's eyes widened- he accepted this; his dad really did care all along.

"Come on, son! Let's proceed!" he said as they all walked off into the sunset with their Pokémon asleep on his back. Roark was holding Gardenia's arm and cherishing everything she did for him; as his best friend and lover. She did the very same things he never could; bring back his family or making him feel stronger. Then he remembered a poem that his female friend composed once

Taste the sea, feel the wind

In its natural caress

As the earth showers you with her bountiful

To the child skirting her dress

Strawberry tongue, sour salt

The beauty of it all

Butterfly's touch, it means so much

As it blows on its angelic clarion call

He now understood the real meaning of it. He was now much richer by a beautiful lover and his father reunited. And that was the whole idea- to be in touch with your senses and be as free as the wind. And what wasn't there that Roark had? He was a leader, had a wonderful Pokémon, a free spirited lover and family. He accomplished everything he needed to so far.

He felt the butterfly's touch.

* * *

**I especially thank malory79080 for her invaluable support and motivating me to wirte through her reviews. I was really happy and I thank you a ton for it. I also thank bravobravo for his constructive review and his support,SuperDaikenki too plus all my favouriters and followers. You've been a wonderful support, it is really touching! :')**

**Now that this is over, write to me about your favourite parts, I'd love to know. Now I'm out people! Peace!**


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